SIMENON SIMENON. THE SHORT MAIGRETS ARE GOOD, TOO

On where Anglophones can find the English translations 

SIMENON SIMENON. LES MAIGRET COURTS SONT BONS AUSSI 

Où les anglophones peuvent trouver les traductions anglaises

SIMENON SIMENON. ANCHE I MAIGRET BREVI SONO BUONI

Dove gli anglofoni possono trovare le traduzioni in inglese  

The availability of modern English translations of Simenon, as seen in the relatively recent flurry of Maigret novels emanating from Penguin Random House UK, is a bonanza for Anglophones. In fact, Penguin has published just over 75% of these Maigret novels. Unlike the recent ITV project to produce Maigret television movies that came to an unexpected early end after a mere four films, Penguin seems to be on track to complete the full series of 75 Maigret novels. 

While wondering whether the publisher would move on into modern English translations of the 28 Maigret short stories, I discovered Penguin has already released a single Maigret short story entitled A Maigret Christmas within a three-story collection under the title of A Maigret Christmas And Other Stories. Along with two non-Maigret stories, the collection appeared in hardcover and a Kindle edition in 2017; the paperback will be released in three to four weeks. 

If other new translations are not forthcoming, all is not lost because older English translations of the other 27 stories do exist. One can find 24 of them combined in two collections translated by Jean Stewart: 17 appear in Maigret’s Pipe: Seventeen Stories, beginning with a 1994 edition, and 7 appear in Maigret’s Christmas: Nine Stories, beginning with a 1976 edition. 

3 more stories are available online as Steve Trussel translations on his excellent comprehensive website: https://www.trussel.com/f_maig.htm. Those titles are The Unlikely M. Owen and Death Threats and The Group at the Grand Café. 

As for the particularly elusive 28th story, Trussel’s site also provides identifying details to help in buying used editions or borrowing library copies of it. Originally entitled Jeumont, 51 minutes d’arrêt by Simenon, it has appeared under various titles, starting with Jeumont, 51 Minutes’ Stop! in a 1961 translation by J.E. Malcolm, morphing into Inspector Maigret Deduces in a 1966 translation also by J.E. Malcolm, and ending with Jeumont: 51 Minutes’ Wait! in a 1977 translation by Jean Stewart. Apparently, there were eight various editions of these translations. 

To round out this listing of modern Simenon translations into English, notably Penguin has ‘only’ produced eight of the vastly more numerous roman durs: 

The Snow Was Dirty 

Mr. Hire’s Engagement 

The Mahé Circle 

The Pitards 

The Krull House 

The Man Who Watched The Trains Go By 

The Hand 

The Blue Room 

In addition, Penguin has provided ‘just’ two selections from the so-called Dictées: 

When I Was Old and Letter to My Mother 

Enjoy! 

David P Simmons