Georges Simenon

Belgian novelist Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989). Simenon is most known for creating the fictitious investigator Jules Maigret. He was a prolific novelist who authored approximately 500 novels and several short works.

Simenon was a prolific writer of the twentieth century, averaging 60 to 80 pages each day. Nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, many autobiographical works, several essays, and hundreds of pulp books produced under over two dozen pseudonyms make up his work. Around 550 million copies of his writings have been printed in total. However, he is most known for the 75 novels and 28 short tales he wrote about Commissaire Maigret. Pieter-le-Letton, the first novel in the series, was serialized in 1930 and published in book form in 1931; Maigret and Monsieur Charles, the final, was published in 1972. The Maigret books have been translated into every major language and turned into films and radio plays.

Detailed Information:

Min. estimated sales: 500 million

Max. estimated sales: 700 million

Original language: French

Genre and/or major works: Detectives, Maigret, Romans dur

Number of books: 570