Jules Maigret
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Jules Maigret, known as (Commissaire) Maigret to most people, including his wife, is a fictional police detective, created by writer Georges Simenon.
Some of his trademark features are his pipes, his mixed approach to detecting (at times relying on pure intuition, at times on method), and his tendency to pop into small cafes or bars to have several alcoholic beverages.
Maigret was supposedly born 1884 in Saint-Fiacre, although different birth dates can be concluded from different books. He is married to Louise, who is almost exclusively referred to as Madame Maigret in the books. They had a daughter who died at birth <ref>Simenon, Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard (Hamish Hamilton 1975), trans. Eileen Ellenbogen from Maigret et l'Homme du Banc (1953), p69.</ref>.
As with most protagonists in detective fiction, he is usually successful. His sidekicks are not portrayed as mindless puppets only there to contrast with the brilliance of Maigret as is often the case; instead, that role is reserved for the public prosecutor or more frequently the Juge d'instruction or Examining Magistrate.
Seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories about Maigret were published between 1931 and 1972, starting with Pietr-le-Leton (The Case of Peter the Lett) and concluding with Maigret et Monsieur Charles (Maigret and Monsieur Charles).
