''Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper'' (original French-language title ''Maigret au "Picratt's"'') is a

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

by the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

crime writer

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

published in 1950, featuring the author's most celebrated character

Inspector Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

. Its alternate English-language titles include ''Maigret in Montmartre'' and ''Maigret at Picratt's''.

Synopsis

The plot of the novel revolves around the murder of a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

called Arlette, and the novel is noted for its depiction of the seedy nightlife of the

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

district in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Plot

Arlette, a stripper at Picratt's nightclub in Montmartre, reports to the police that she has overheard two men plotting to kill a "countess". Soon afterwards both Arlette and the Countess von Farnhem, a drug user, are found dead. It turns out that Arlette was romantically involved with one of Maigret's colleagues, Inspector Lapointe. A man named Oscar becomes the lead suspect after Maigret finds out that he used to be the Countess's butler. Maigret uses another drug user, Philippe, to lead him to the killer, who is shot dead by Lapointe.

English-language Editions

The novel has been published in English under three different titles: *''Maigret in Montmartre'', translated by

Daphne Woodward Daphne Woodward was a translator of French literature into the English language. In particular, she was responsible for translating eight books in the Inspector Maigret series by the Belgian detective writer Georges Simenon. These were commission ...

and published by Hamish Hamilton in the United Kingdom, together with ''

Maigret's Mistake ''Maigret's Mistake'' (French:''Maigret se trompe'') is a 1953 detective novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon featuring his character Jules Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' co ...

'', in a book called ''Maigret Right and Wrong'' (1954) *''Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper'', translated by Cornelia Schaeffer and published by Doubleday in the United States (also 1954) *''Maigret at Picratt's'', translated by William Hobson and published by Penguin in 2016.

Adaptations

The novel has been rated one of the ten best Maigret stories and has been adapted several times for TV and film. It has been adapted three times in English: In 1960, as ''Murder in Montmartre'', it was the first episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''Maigret'' series, starring

Rupert Davies Rupert Lisburn Gwynne Davies FRSA (22 May 191622 November 1976) was a British actor best remembered for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of ''Maigret'', based on Georges Simenon's novels. Life and career Milit ...

in the title role; In 1993, as ''Maigret and the Night-club Dancer'', it was an episode of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

''Maigret'' series starring

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...

; and in 2017, as ''Maigret in Montmartre'', it was included in the later ITV series starring

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...

.''Maigret in Montmartre'' (2017)
at

IMDb.com IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper Jules Maigret novels Belgian novels adapted into films 1950 Belgian novels