giovedì 3 settembre 2020

SIMENON SIMENON. A TALENT FOR PROMOTION

How Simenon launched Maigret: a ball and photographic covers 

SIMENON SIMENON. UN TALENTO PER LA PROMOZIONE 

Come Simenon ha lanciato Maigret: un ballo e copertine fotografiche 

SIMENON SIMENON. UN TALENT POUR LA PROMOTION 

Comment Simenon a lancé Maigret: un bal et des couvertures photographiques



We have often underlined how Simenon was attentive not only to the content and the form of what he wrote, but he had also precise ideas as well about the editorial choices as about the promotional modalities. Suffice it to recall the novelist’s quarrels with his publisher Fayard, who was at first time almost shocked when Simenon claimed he wanted to stop his production of popular novels to dedicate himself to that particular serial detective, in which the protagonist was, moreover, a police officer far away from any typology of the successful literary investigator at the time. 

Likewise, after having written the nineteenth novel of the Chief Inspector’s investigations, Simenon wanted to stop with the literature of the genre and to devote to the novel “tout court”. Fayard, who at the beginning had been against the idea of the Maigret novels, was now on the contrary quite happy to have been wrong and to have in his team a character of so great success, and he didn’t understand why the novelist wanted to get rid of this goose that laid golden eggs. 

Here too Simenon was right, or at least half right. From one part he was now mature and ready to take the step towards these novels that would make him one of the most popular writers of the 1900s. From another part yet, after a few years off, he started writing again Maigret novels (at first for a prestigious publisher like Gallimard, and then for Nielsen and his Presses de la Cité), which would accompany him for his whole life as a writer. 

Simenon was also right when he claimed that the launching of Maigret had to constitute an event, and that a usual presentation was not enough, if it would just end up in a column of the pages newspapers reserved for literary news. He wanted all Paris to talk about it and for a whole week. And so he conceived the now well-known event called Anthropometrical Ball, an unbridled party at the Boule Blanche, a dancing club in Montparnasse, where the Parisian cream of the crop had been invited with legal warnings and the guests were taken fingerprints by extras dressed as policemen. Inside there were decorations and furnishings in the judicial-prison-style. A night with dances, Central American music, impromptu performances, drunkenness, improvised strip-teases. And in fact the press, newspapers and weekly magazines, really talked about it for the whole week. And Maigret got off to a great start, thanks to the literary product, but also to the launching strategy. 

And in this vein we have to add, in the same way, the attention that Simenon paid to the covers. “I never accepted that bad taste was a necessity not even for popular editions…” Not surprisingly he claimed to have been the first in the world (?), precisely in 1931 with the launching of the Maigret novels, to have created the photographical covers that showed not only the ambiance of the plot, but also often the protagonist. In his Intimate Memoirs he told: “in the Maubert district of la Mouf’, as it was called in jargon, a shelter for the bums, with whom I spent a whole night, that time only to find a man that would have to appear on the photographical cover of Le Charretier de la “Providence”. I found him, in the lowest of shelters, for those who have no hope anymore, I brought him a studio where he was photographed near a white horse rented for the occasion.” 

 

by Simenon-Simenon 

mercoledì 2 settembre 2020

SIMENON SIMENON. LES MAISONS DE SIMENON


De juillet 1957 à décembre 1963, Simenon vécut au château d'Echandens, où il écrivit 25 romans

Dal luglio 1957 al dicembre 1963, Simenon visse al castello d'Echandens, dove scrisse 25 romanzi

From July 1957 to December 1963, Simenon lived in the Echandens castle, where he wrote 25 novels




martedì 1 settembre 2020

SIMENON SIMENON. SIMENON ET MAIGRET À MOULINS

Traces des souvenirs bourbonnais du romancier dans la saga maigretienne 


SIMENON SIMENON. SIMENON E MAIGRET A MOULINS

Tracce dei ricordi del romanziere sul Bourbonnais nella saga maigrettiana

SIMENON SIMENON. SIMENON AND MAIGRET IN MOULINS

Traces of the novelist’s memories about the Bourbonnais in the Maigret saga 

 


Le château de Paray-le-Frésil -1920


 

Tout maigretphile qui se respecte sait que le commissaire a des origines bourbonnaises. Il est né à Saint-Fiacre, un village de l’Allier. Saint-Fiacre est une invention de Simenon, qui a transposé le bien réel Paray-le-Frésil, qu’il avait connu au temps où il suivait le marquis de Tracy dans ses terres. Saint-Fiacre est le lieu de l’action dans L’Affaire Saint-Fiacre, et il est cité dans d’autres romans évoquant les souvenirs de Maigret, comme Un échec de Maigret, L’Ami d’enfance de Maigret ou Maigret et les vieillards. 

Non loin de Saint-Fiacre se trouve la ville de Moulins. Dans L’Affaire Saint-Fiacre, une partie de l’action s’y déroule, et la ville est encore mentionnée dans L’Ami d’enfance de Maigret, puisque c’est là que se situe la pâtisserie des parents de Florentin, mais aussi le lycée Banville, que Maigret a fréquenté pendant un certain temps, et où il avait quelques condisciples, comme Florentin, Malik (Maigret se fâche) et Fumal (Un échec de Maigret). Moulins est aussi cité dans Les Mémoires de Maigret et Maigret à Vichy. 

Moulins est encore le théâtre des Inconnus dans la maison, et la ville est mentionnée dans plusieurs autres romans, romans durs et romans sous pseudonymes, dont on peut trouver la liste dans le livre de Paul Mercier, Simenon, le Bourbonnais, publié chez LACME en 2018. 

Dans la saga maigretienne, Simenon a aussi parsemé les romans d’autres allusions à Moulins, en dehors des souvenirs de jeunesse de Maigret. La première mention de Moulins apparaît dans Le Charretier de la « Providence » : l’acte de naissance de Mary Lampson émane de Moulins, et elle y est enregistrée sous le nom de Marie Dupin ; mais, renseignements pris, Maigret apprend que ce sont de faux papiers : Mary, après avoir eu des ennuis avec la justice, s’était arrangée pour obtenir les papiers de sa petite-cousine de Moulins. À se demander si c’est une spécialité du secrétaire de la mairie de Moulins de falsifier des papiers d’identité, car dans Maigret au Picratt’s, la carte d’identité d’Arlette mentionne que son véritable nom serait Jeanne Leleu, née à Moulins ; mais quand le commissaire fait vérifier, il apprend que la vraie Jeanne Leleu n’a rien à voir avec Arlette… Moulins est encore cité en passant dans d’autres romans : dans Monsieur Gallet, décédé, le commissaire prend le train sur la « grande ligne de Moulins, qui passe à Sancerre » ; dans Félicie est là, une fille du trottoir, Adèle, est née dans les environs de Moulins. 

Comme Paul Mercier le note dans son ouvrage, Maigret évoque à plusieurs reprises le village de son enfance, mais le nom du village n’est pas toujours précisé, ni la région où il est situé. Néanmoins, l’Allier est cité dans quelques romans : dans Les Vacances de Maigret, le commissaire, lorsqu’il se rend à la clinique où a été opérée Mme Maigret, se souvient de son enfance, lorsque « dans son village de l’Allier, [il] marchait sur la pointe des pieds et retenait son souffle » avant d’entrer dans la sacristie pour prendre ses vêtements d’enfant de chœur. Dans La Première Enquête de Maigret et Les Mémoires de Maigret est évoqué Xavier Guichard, qui avait souvent passé des vacances chez les parents de Maigret, dans l’Allier. Dans Maigret tend un piège, le commissaire explique au professeur Tissot qu’il est originaire de l’Allier, et dans Maigret et les braves gens, il se souvient d’un événement de « sa petite enfance […] dans son village de l’Allier ». Enfin, dans La Patience de Maigret, c’est le patron d’un restaurant qui est originaire de l’Allier. 

Dans Les Vacances de Maigret, le Dr Bellamy demande au commissaire : « – De quelle province êtes-vous ? D’autres auraient dit département, et Maigret saluait au passage ce mot province qu’il aimait. – Du Bourbonnais. » Et dans Maigret et les vieillards, le commissaire apprend que le fils de la princesse de V. possède le « château de Saint-Sauveur-en-Bourbonnais ». À ma connaissance, aucun lieu ne porte ce nom dans la région, mais peut-être nos amis lecteurs bourbonnais pourront-ils nous confirmer la chose… 

 

Murielle Wenger 

lunedì 31 agosto 2020

LES MAXIMES DE MAIGRET - LE MASSIME DI MAIGRET- THE MAXIMS OF MAIGRET


« Il s’agit de connaître. Connaître le milieu où un crime est commis, connaître le genre de vie, les habitudes, les mœurs, les réactions des gens qui y sont mêlés, victimes, coupables et simples témoins. » (Les Mémoires de Maigret)


“Si tratta di conoscere. Conoscere l’ambiente in cui il crimine è commesso, conoscere il tipo di vita, le abitudini, i costumi le reazioni della gente che si sono intrecciate. vittime, colpevoli e semplici testimoni” (Le memorie di Maigret)


“It’s about knowing. Knowing the environment where a crime is committed, knowing the kind of life, habits, mores, reactions of people who are involved, victims, culprits and simple witnesses.” (Maigret’s Memoirs)

venerdì 28 agosto 2020

SIMENON SIMENON.IL MISTERO DEL FILM SU MAIGRET

Che cosa è successo? Una produzione scomparsa nel buio?

SIMENON SIMENON: LE MYSTÈRE SUR LE FILM MAIGRET
Qu'est-il arrivé? Une production qui a disparu dans le noir?
SIMENON SIMENON: THE MYSTERY ON THE MAIGRET FILM
What happened? A production that disappeared in the dark?






















Oggi facciamo un po' il resoconto della storia di una notizia che iniziò a circolare circa un anno e mezzo fa'. Si riferiva ad una nuova produzione cinematografica che avrebbe dovuto riportare sul grande schermo il commissario Maigret. Non doveva essere uno di quei "si dice", dal momento che per il regista si faceva il nome di Patrice Leconte (non nuovo a portare sullo schermo i romanzi di Simenon) e per il poliziotto simenoniano quello di Daniel Auteil, altro nome di peso del cinema francese. Si faceva anche riferimento all'inizio delle riprese che sarebbero dovute partire a fine 2019/primi 2020 e al romanzo che sarebbe stato adattato: "Maigret et la jeune morte”.
Ai primi di luglio il primo colpo di scena.
Daniel Auteil rinuncia (non si conosce il motivo) e al suo posto spunta un'altro grande vecchio della cinematografia francese. Gerard Deparidieu. Alto e massiccio (forse anche troppo?) ma sicuramente adatto a trasmettere l'imponenza della figura del commissario, così come l'aveva immaginata Simenon.
La notizia era confermata dal quotidiano "Le Parisien" che informava come l'inizio delle riprese fosse spostato a marzo del 2020 e confermava che il romanzo sarebbe stato "Maigret et la jeune morte”.
Questa ventata di ufficialità in noi di Simenon-Simenon suscitò una vivida curiosità. Infatti  il 15 dicembre del 2011 (ben otto anni prima) avevamo pubblicato un post in cui indicavamo Depardieu come l'attore, a nostro avviso, più adatto a portare sullo schermo, grande e piccolo che fosse, il mitico Maigret.(qui) 
La coincidenza ovviamente ci colpì. Ciò che ci aveva allora indirizzato nei confronti dell'attore francese era la sua comprovata bravura, ma anche l'idea che fosse pachidermico come il commissario. La sua presenza scenica tra l'altro ricordava un po' quella di un altro attore simenoniano per eccellenza, Jean Gabin (senza voler fare nessun paragone!). Nonostante la sua non più giovane età, Depardieu era, ed è, un'attore contemporaneo che secondo noi poteva infondere qualcosa di attuale al personaggio. Ma tutto sommato il nostro era più un gioco, un esercizio un po' spericolato basato solo su delle ipotesi.
E invece dopo otto anni....
Dopo otto anni iniziò l'attesa.
Infatti fino al mese di agosto del 2020, non si sono avute più notizie della produzione. Non ne hanno parlato i giornali, abbiamo cercato tra le agenzie di stampa francesi, nei siti specializzati di cinema sul web... nessuna notizia. Nulla sulla produzione, niente sul regista, silenzio sull'attore.
Era una "fake-news"? Non crediamo. Anche perché all'epoca molti media l'avevano presa sul serio. Poi c'era stato il cambio del protagonista, ma questa è quasi una regole nel mondo della produzione cinematografica. 
É più probabile che qualcosa sia andato storto. Non scordiamoci che a marzo 2020 era in piena espansione l'epidemia del Covid-19 che ha bloccato un po' tutte le attività.  Le sale cinematografiche chiuse, i lanci di film già pronti rimandati a chissà quando, la sospensione dei festival... Insomma anche per il cinema un momento molto difficile. Ma sul nostro film comunque nemmeno un comunicato, nessuna notizia...
Le speranze sono ormai quasi perse. Ma davvero il Covid  ha ucciso oltre alla giovane (morta) anche il nuovo commissario Maigret? Oppure altri motivi, prima che scoppiasse il Covid, già avevano stroncato la produzione?

Aggiornamento. 
Scrivere serve. E infatti proprio leggendo il post di oggi, ci hanno segnalato una breve notizia apparsa all'interno di un'articolo del quotidiano francese "Le Point". Qui lo stesso Leconte afferma che il suo prossimo film sarà proprio "Maigret et la jeune morte”, confermando che il protagonista sarà assolutamente Depardieu e comunicando che l'inizio delle riprese è previsto per febbraio 2021. Ci sono stati continui rinvii, confessa il regista, dovuti a problemi di finanziamento. Ma sembra che questa sia la volta buona, anche se l'articolista conclude che ci crederà quando sentirà il primo "ciak". E non per poca fiducia nei confronti di Leconte, ma per il precario stato in cui versano le produzioni cinematografiche in questo momento.

giovedì 27 agosto 2020

SIMENON SIMENON. LES MAISONS DE SIMENON




De juillet 1950 à mars 1955, Simenon vécut à Lakeville, où il écrivit plus de 25 romans.

Da luglio 1950 a marzo 1955, Simenon visse a Lakeville, dove scrisse più di 25 romanzi

From July 1950 to March 1955, Simenon lived in Lakeville, where he wrote more than 25 novels.

Simenon et... journaux à Lakeville


mercoledì 26 agosto 2020

SIMENON SIMENON. THE IMPORTANCE OF MME MAIGRET

What role does the Chief Inspector's wife play in the saga? 

 

SIMENON SIMENON. L'IMPORTANZA DI MME MAIGRET

Che ruolo gioca la moglie del commissario nella serie?

SIMENON SIMENON. L'IMPORTANCE DE MME MAIGRET

Quel rôle joue la femme du commissaire dans la saga? 

 


Maigret would not have been Maigret without Louise. He met her for the first time in a party given by her uncle and aunt (see Maigret’s Memoirs). At the time, young Maigret was certainly not an excellent match, even if he had recently been promoted, from neighbourhood patrols (with uniform and bicycle) to secretary at the Saint-Georges police station. But his earnings were still low. Louise’s family was from Alsace and they all worked in Civil engineering, so Jules’ belonging to low ranks in police made him almost a stranger… Louise parents would have wished her to marry an engineer, from their world. But love won over Civil engineering. Jules and Louise married in October 1912 and she officially entered the role of Mme Maigret, the Chief Inspector's wife. 

At first sight she might seem like a secondary element in the serial narrative of the Maigret novels; she doesn’t always appear in the investigations, his husband doesn’t call her by her first name, but he always calls her “Mme Maigret”. She would be a kind of appendix, but in fact she acts as a reference to a series of elements that make Maigret’s character more complete and give him a greater depth. His little manias, his domestic habits; he, who can be so grumpy and intractable at the Quai des Orfèvres, becomes so pampered and thoughtfully cared in his apartment in boulevard Richard-Lenoir. The after-dinner prunelle, made by Louise’ s sister in Alsace; smoking a pipe before going to bed; asking what’s for dinner and trying to guess it from the pots sizzling on the stove. And her, guessing the heavy passes of her husband beyond the door, when, returning home in the evening, he climbs the stairs. And her patience in collecting ashes and tobacco that Maigret’s pipes leave everywhere. And also the dinner evenings at their friends the Pardon, the Sundays spent at the cinema, where he often fells asleep. 

All habits that, thanks to this home life, present Maigret’s other side. In short, Mme Maigret is, at the beginning of the series, a narrative expedient to reveal this other side of the Chief Inspector, but little by little she takes shape and body, and becomes a co-protagonist and even a protagonist in some investigations. And then she gets more and more emancipated; she remains a housewife, but adapting to times. For example in the last novels she drives a car, having taken a license. 

But she is also an independent woman. She is used to periods of solitude when his husband spends a few nights away from home in the course of his investigations. Sometimes she goes to visit her sister in Alsace. Sometimes she happens to help Maigret in an investigation. Mme Maigret secretly follows his husband’s cases in the newspapers. This irritates a little the Chief Inspector, who pretends not to know it, but sometimes gets angry when she doesn’t hide them well and he finds one in the house. 

However, Mme Maigret’s real importance is different. Simenon portrays in her, as well in her physical as in her behavioural characteristics, the ideal woman and wife. He always writes about her with some attention and a pinch of envy, which is often to be read between the lines of the novels. Of course we can better notice and understand it when we know Simenon’s life and relationships with women. For example, at first glance we find in Mme Maigret that physical roundness, a kind of plump silhouette, discreet, endowed where it has to be; it is a bit the physical description that Simenon made of Boule. Mme Maigret is also graceful, ready to step aside when his husband is in black mood, to cuddle him when he needs it, and above all to seduce him with her cooking. 

 

by Simenon-Simenon