Edgar Allan Poe Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 0 (1966) Winner
Georges Simenon
ジョルジュ・シムノン
Joruju Shimunon
Aliases:
G. Sim / Monsieur Le Coq / Brühl
Pen Names:
G. Sim（One of the signatures he used in journalism and early short fiction）,
Monsieur Le Coq（Pseudonym used for a gossip/opinion column in the Gazette）,
Brühl（A pen name derived from a maternal ancestor's name, used occasionally）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1903-02-13 （Liège, Wallonia, Belgium）
- Died
- 1989-09-04 （Lausanne, Romandy, Switzerland） age 86
- Nationality
- Belgian
- Languages
- French
- Religion
- Roman Catholic
- Residence History
- Liège (birthplace and childhood) → Paris (1922–1945, periods) → La Rochelle, Fontenay-le-Comte and other locations in France → Canada (Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson) and United States (1945–1955) → Mougins area, Lausanne, Epalinges (Switzerland, 1957–1989)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Journalist, Short story writer, Memoirist
- Active Years
- 1919-1981
- Affiliations
- Mystery Writers of America (President), Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium
- Memberships
- Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium, Mystery Writers of America (served as President), American Academy of Arts and Letters (Honorary Member)
- Influenced By
- André Gide, François Mauriac, Max Jacob, Colette
- Influenced
- Many mid- to late-20th-century crime writers and novelists, Patricia Highsmith (ranked alongside Simenon in some lists), John Banville (critic who praised Simenon's work)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collège Saint-Louis, Liège | — | — | — | 1914–1918（中退） | Belgium |
Collège Saint-Louis, Liège
Period:
1914–1918（中退）
Country:
Belgium
Left school in 1918 without taking final exams
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Member of the Royal Academy (Belgium) | — | — | Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium | 選出 |
| 1955 | Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur | — | — | French government | 叙勲 |
| 1971 | Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | 名誉会員 |
| 1952 | President, Mystery Writers of America | — | — | Mystery Writers of America | 選出（会長） |
Member of the Royal Academy (Belgium)
1952
Organization:
Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium
Result:
選出
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
1955
Organization:
French government
Result:
叙勲
Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
1971
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
名誉会員
President, Mystery Writers of America
1952
Organization:
Mystery Writers of America
Result:
選出（会長）
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Saint-Fiacre Affair
1932 Mystery / Maigret seriesAn early Maigret novel that evokes the atmosphere of a small town through a local crime.
human psychologyprovincial societyclass divisions
Adaptations
- [Film] Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre / Jean Delannoy (1959)
Translations
- The Saint-Fiacre Affair
Monsieur Hire's Engagement
1933 Roman dur / Psychological novelA short psychological novel focusing on an isolated individual's inner life; adapted into films such as Panic.
lonelinessobservationsocial alienation
Adaptations
- [Film] Panic / Julien Duvivier (1946)
- [Film] Monsieur Hire / Patrice Leconte (1989)
Translations
- Monsieur Hire's Engagement
Act of Passion (Lettre à mon juge)
1947 Roman dur / Psychological novelA representative roman dur in which the narrator confesses and explores motives for a crime.
guilt and atonementpassionself-analysis
Translations
- Act of Passion
The Snow Was Dirty
1948 Roman dur / Literary novelAn important postwar novel dealing with memory and guilt; English paperback edition sold very well.
postwar landscapememoryguilt
Adaptations
- [Film] The Snow Was Dirty / Luis Saslavsky (1953)
Translations
- The Snow Was Dirty / Dirty Snow
The Cat (Le Chat)
1967 Roman dur / Domestic dramaA severe look at an elderly couple's relationship and loneliness; adapted to film and highly regarded.
ageingmarital relationsloneliness
Adaptations
- [Film] The Cat / Pierre Granier-Deferre (1971)
Translations
- The Cat
Pedigree
1948 Autobiographical novelA semi-autobiographical work recounting his childhood and youth, reflecting his experiences in Liège.
autobiographycoming of agesocial background
Translations
- Pedigree
The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By
1938 Roman dur / Crime novelDepicts how an ordinary man drifts into criminality; adapted into films.
banality and downfallidentityfate
Adaptations
- [Film] The Man Who Watched Trains Go By / Harold French (1952)
Translations
- The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By
Bibliography
- The Crime at Lock 14 (1931)
- The Saint-Fiacre Affair (1932)
- Monsieur Hire's Engagement (1933)
- Tropic Moon (1933)
- The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (1938)
- The Snow Was Dirty (1948)
- Pedigree (1948)
- The Cat (1967)
Adaptations
- Numerous adaptations of Maigret novels and romans durs (films, TV, stage)
- Maigret TV series produced in multiple countries
- Film adaptations of The Cat, The Snow Was Dirty, Act of Passion, etc.
Translations of Works
- Many works translated into English and numerous other languages
- The Snow Was Dirty sold millions of paperback copies in English translation
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- concise prose with a limited vocabularyfocus on psychological portraitbrief, concentrated narrative style
- Recurring Motifs
- loneliness and alienationurban and railway landscapesguilt and contingency
Health
-
Suspected heart condition (circa 1940)1940Advised to reduce smoking, overeating and excesses; later second opinion questioned diagnosis
-
Brain surgery (1984)1984Made a full recovery after the operation
-
Confined to a wheelchair (late life, since 1988)1988–1989Limited mobility in final years; died following a fall
Legacy
One of the most prolific 20th-century novelists. Creator of Inspector Maigret and author of romans durs; both commercially and critically influential worldwide. Over 500 million copies sold and extensive film/TV adaptations have embedded his work in popular culture.
Museums
- Centre for Georges Simenon Studies (Université de Liège) Liège, Belgium
Academic Societies
- Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium
- Mystery Writers of America
Archives
- Georges Simenon collections / centre at the University of Liège
- Estate managed by Peters Fraser & Dunlop
In Popular Culture
- Maigret adaptations for film and television in many countries
- Inclusion of selected novels in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade (2003)
Quotes
-
I consider Simenon a great novelist, perhaps the greatest, and the most genuine novelist that we have had in contemporary French literature.
Source: André Gide (comment)
Trivia
- Published around 400 novels (192 under his own name) and 21 volumes of memoirs.
- Estimated to have sold over 500 million copies worldwide.
- Used many pen names (more than 17) in the 1920s–1930s.
- Known for very fast, prolific writing—produced large amounts in short time.