''Maigret's Failure'' (French: ''Un échec de Maigret'') 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 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 ...

featuring his famous creation

Jules 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 ...

Overview

Fumal, an infamous bully and the owner of meat-packing industry, orders Maigret to protect him after he comes to believe his life is in danger. However, Maigret, who was one of Fumal's targets for offense as a child, does very little to protect the man. Later, Fumal is viciously slaughtered; Maigret blames himself for not preventing the murder, and must go about the agonizing task of discovering the murdered butcher's killer.

Publishing history

Originally published in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

in 1956 by

Presses de la Cité Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of '' The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, Californi ...

as ''Un Echec de Maigret'', the first English translation (translated by Daphne Woodward) was published by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

in 1962. It was included in two anthologies, ''A Maigret Quartet'' (1972) and ''A Maigret Trio'' (1983).

Adaptations

A BBC TV version of the book first aired on November 6, 1961, under the title Death of a Butcher with

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 ...

playing Maigret. Jean Richard played Maigret in the 1987 French TV version and

Bruno Cremer Bruno Jean Marie Cremer (6 October 1929 – 7 August 2010) was a French actor best known for portraying Jules Maigret on French television, from 1991 to 2005. Origins Bruno Cremer was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, in the eastern suburb ...

in the 2003 adaptation.

References

1956 Belgian novels Jules Maigret novels Presses de la Cité books {{1950s-crime-novel-stub