In May 1978 Marie-Jo, Georges Simenon’s much loved daughter, committed suicide. It was a tragedy which prompted him, two years later, to write his autobiography, partly as a memorial to her. It is a revealing account of his life. Born in Liege in 1903, the son of a poor clerk, he eked out a living as a journalist until his stories and novels became successful. He wanted to see everything, try everything, and so travelled widely, particularly in America, before eventually settling in Switzerland. The experiences of his wanderings have been used to brilliant effect in his writings. But, as he himself acknowledges, it was the homely character of Maigret who brought him the most fame, and it was thanks to him that he ceased being an amateur writer and became a novelist. Well-known for his frankness about his personal life, he discusses freely his relationships with his first wife, Tigy (they were divorced in 1950), his second wife, D., the mother of Marie-Jo, and many other women. He is devoted to his children and describes his fascination in watching them grow up and develop their own personalities. He delights in sharing with the reader his intense curiosity in everything around him and his tremendous enjoyment of all that life has to offer. One of the twentieth century's most famous and widely read novelists has written a memoir that is as absorbing and readable as any of his novels.
Author
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (1903 – 1989) was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Although he never resided in Belgium after 1922, he remained a Belgian citizen throughout his life. Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, capable of writing 60 to 80 pages per day. His oeuvre includes nearly 200 novels, over 150 novellas, several autobiographical works, numerous articles, and scores of pulp novels written under more than two dozen pseudonyms. Altogether, about 550 million copies of his works have been printed. He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret. The first novel in the series, Pietr-le-Letton, appeared in 1931; the last one, Maigret et M. Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into all major languages and several of them were turned into films and radio plays. Two television series (1960-63 and 1992-93) have been made in Great Britain. During his "American" period, Simenon reached the height of his creative powers, and several novels of those years were inspired by the context in which they were written (Trois chambres à Manhattan (1946), Maigret à New York (1947), Maigret se fâche (1947)). Simenon also wrote a large number of "psychological novels", such as La neige était sale (1948) or Le fils (1957), as well as several autobiographical works, in particular Je me souviens (1945), Pedigree (1948), Mémoires intimes (1981). In 1966, Simenon was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award. In 2005 he was nominated for the title of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian). In the Flemish version he ended 77th place. In the Walloon version he ended 10th place.
