Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was a Belgian writer whose works were among the world's most widely read.
A prolific novelist, his detective fictions - including one of the world's most famous sleuths, Inspector Jules Maigret of the Paris police - explore the motivations of both the criminal and his victims.
He was born in Liege, Belgium. His novels achieved outstanding success in Europe and the United States, and editions have appeared in many languages. Among the many titles published are “The Patience of Maigret” (1940) and “Maigret Hesitates” (1970). His autobiography, “Intimate Memoirs” (1981; translated in 1984), details his own neurotic tensions and includes the story of his beloved daughter's suicide.
Maigret was first introduced in “The Strange Case of Peter the Lett” (1931). Some of Simenon's works are remarkable for their psychological analysis, for example, “The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By” (1938), “Act of Passion” (1947) and “The Little Saint” (1965). Simenon's many books - he wrote more than 200 novels under his own name and many others under various pseudonyms - evoke atmosphere with great economy and plumb the inner, often pathological lives of his characters in a manner reminiscent of Dostoyevsky.