Icons Maigret

The pipe-smoking French police inspector created by Georges Simenon is one of the most popular detectives in literature, as Heidi Fuller-Love explains

Given the friendly rivalry between the two countries, it is perhaps ironic that the detective who has been dubbed ‘the French Sherlock Holmes’ was created by a Belgian. Author Georges Simenon’s own life certainly reads like a novel: he was born in Liège on Friday 13 February 1903, but a superstitious aunt registered his birth date on the 12th. At the age of 15, Simenon took a job on the local newspaper, where his work reporting on crime gave him a lasting attraction for the seamier side of life, which features so often in his work.

When his much-loved father died in 1922 at the age of 44, Simenon moved to Paris. From 1924-1929 the author known for his prolific output wrote 150 pulp novels. “It’s true my father had an amazing capacity for work and could write a book in a fortnight,” his son John said in a recent interview.