Editing Georges Simenon (section)

==France, 1922–1945==

=== Literary apprenticeship, 1922{{En dash}}1928 ===
Now in Paris, Simenon found a menial job with a far-right political group headed by the writer [[Binet-Valmer]]. In March 1923 he returned to Liège to marry Régine. Although neither Simenon nor Régine were religious, they were married in a Catholic church to please Simenon's mother, who was devout.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 108-09</ref>

The newly-weds moved to Paris where Régine tried to establish herself as a painter while Simenon resumed work for Binet-Valmer and sent articles to the ''Revue Sincère'' of Brussels for which he was the Paris correspondent. He also wrote short stories for popular magazines, but sales were sporadic.<ref>Manham (1994). pp. 109-10</ref>

In the summer of 1923, Simenon was engaged by the Marquis de Tracy as his private secretary, which obliged him to spend nine months of the year at the aristocrat's various rural properties. Régine soon moved to a village near the Marquis's principal estate at [[Paray-le-Frésil]], near [[Moulins, Allier|Moulins]].<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 110-11</ref>

While working for the Marquis, Simenon began submitting stories to ''[[Le Matin (France)|Le Matin]]'' whose literary editor was [[Colette]]. Colette advised him to make his work "less literary" which Simenon took to mean that he should use simple descriptions and a limited stock of common words. Simenon followed her advice and within a year became one of the paper's regular contributors.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 111-12</ref>

Now with a steady income from his writing, Simenon left the Marquis' employ in 1924 and returned to Paris where he and Régine found an apartment in the fashionable [[Place des Vosges]]. Simenon was writing and selling short stories at the rate of 80 typed pages a day, and now turned his hand to pulp novels. His first, ''Le roman d'une dactylo'' (The Story of a Typist) was quickly sold and two more appeared in 1924 under the pseudonyms "Jean du Perry" and "Georges Simm".<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 112-15</ref> From 1921 to 1934 he used a total of 17 pen names while writing 358 novels and short stories.<ref name="Beckerp3792">Becker, Lucille Frackman. "Georges Simenon (1903-1989)." In: Amoia, Alba della Fazia and Bettina Liebowitz Knapp. ''Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook''. [[Greenwood Publishing Group]], 2002. {{ISBN|0313306877}}, 9780313306877. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3Xv6R5qiDEQC&pg=PA379 379] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506101909/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Xv6R5qiDEQC&pg=PA379|date=6 May 2016}}.</ref>

In the summer of 1925, the Simenons took a holiday in Normandy where they met Henriette Liberge, the 18-year-old daughter of a fisherman. Régine offered her a job as their housekeeper in Paris and the young woman accepted. Simenon began calling her "Boule", and she was to become his lover and part of the Simenon household under that name for the next 39 years.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 117-19, 199</ref>

Simenon began an affair with [[Josephine Baker]] in 1926 or 1927, and became her part-time assistant and editor of ''Josephine Baker's Magazine''.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 122-24</ref> However, the Simenons were tiring of their hectic life in Paris, and in April 1928 they set out with Boule for a six-month tour of the rivers and canals of France in a small boat, the ''Ginette''. Without the distractions provided by Josephine Baker, Simenon's tally of published popular novels increased from 11 in 1927 to 44 in 1928.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 123-27</ref>

=== Birth and retirement of Maigret, 1929{{En dash}}1939 ===
In the spring of 1929, the Simenons and Boule set off for a tour of northern France, Belgium and Holland in a larger, custom-built boat, the ''Ostrogoth''. Simenon had begun contributing detective stories to a new magazine called ''Détective'' and continued to publish popular novels, mainly with the publishers Fayard.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 128-29</ref>[[File:Delfzijl Maigret 01.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jules Maigret|Maigret]] statue in [[Delfzijl]], Netherlands]]During his northern tour, Simenon wrote three popular novels featuring a police inspector named Maigret, but only one, ''Train de nuit'' (Night Train) was accepted by Fayard. Simenon began working on the latter novel (or possibly its successor ''Pietr-le-Letton (Pietr the Latvian)'') in September 1929 when the Ostrogoth was undergoing repairs in the Dutch city of [[Delfzijl]].<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 130-32</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Carly |first=Michel |title=Tout Maigret |publisher=Omnibus |year=2007 |isbn=9782258073401 |volume=1 |location=Paris |pages=XIII-XVI |language=fr |chapter=Maigret, notre contemporain}}</ref>

On his return to Paris in April 1930, Simenon completed ''Pietr-le-Letton,'' the first novel in which commissioner Maigret of the Paris mobile crime brigade was a fully developed character. The novel was serialised in Fayard's magazine ''Ric et Rac'' later that year, and was the first fictional work to appear under Simenon's real name.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 132-33.</ref><ref name=":1" />

The first Maigret novels were launched in book form by Fayard in February 1931 at the fancy dress ''bal anthropométrique'' which had a police and criminals theme. The launching party was widely reported and the novels received positive reviews. Simenon wrote 19 Maigret novels by the end of 1933, and the series eventually sold 500 million copies.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 133-34, 146-47</ref>

In April 1932, the Simenons and Boule moved to [[La Rochelle]] in south-west France. Soon after, they left for Africa where Simenon visited his brother, who was a colonial administrator in the Belgian Congo. Simenon also visited other African colonies and wrote a series of articles highly critical of colonialism. He drew on his African experience in novels such as ''Le'' ''Coup de Lune'' (''Tropic Moon'') (1933) and ''45<sup>0</sup> à l'ombre'' (''Aboard the Aquitaine'') (1936).<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 149-53</ref>

In 1933, the Simenons visited Germany and Eastern Europe, and Simenon secured an interview with [[Leon Trotsky]] in exile in Turkey for ''[[Paris-soir|Paris-Soir]]''. On his return, he announced that he would write no more Maigret novels, and signed a contract with the prestigious publisher Gallimard for his new work.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 154-59</ref>

''Maigret'', written in June 1933, was intended to be the last of the series and ended with the detective in retirement. Simenon called the Maigret novels "semi-literary" and he wanted to establish himself as a serious writer. He stated his aim was to win the Nobel Prize for Literature by 1947.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 147-48</ref>

Simenon's notable novels of the 1930s, written after the temporary retirement of Maigret, include ''Le testament Donadieu'' (''The Shadow Falls'') (1937), ''L'homme qui regardait passer les trains'' (''The Man who Watched the Trains Go By'') (1938) and ''Le bourgmestre de Furnes'' (''The Burgomaster of Furnes'') (1939).<ref>Marnham (1994) pp. 165, 276</ref> [[André Gide]] and [[François Mauriac]] were among Simenon's greatest literary admirers at the time.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 173-74</ref>

In 1935, the Simenons undertook a world tour which included the Americas, the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, Australia and India.<ref>Bresler (1983). p. 102</ref> They then moved back to Paris, to the fashionable Neuilly district, where they lived a life of luxury that Simenon later described as "too sumptuous".<ref>Bresler (1983). pp. 112-15</ref>

They moved home to La Rochelle in 1938 because, as Simenon later explained, "I was sickened by the life I was leading." In April the following year Simenon's first child, Marc, was born.<ref name=":22">Marnham (1994). pp. 167-69, 183-84</ref>

=== Second World War, 1939{{En dash}}1945 ===
Simenon was in a café in La Rochelle when France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939.<ref name=":22"/> In May 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, and La Rochelle became the reception centre for Belgian refugees. The Belgian government appointed Simenon Commissioner for Refugees, and he organised the reception, accommodation, and food and health needs for some 55,000 war refugees before the armistice of 22 June. By August, all Belgian refugees had been repatriated and Simenon resumed civilian life in his new home at [[Fontenay-le-Comte|Fontenay-le-Compte]] in the Vendée.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 184-189</ref>

Later in 1940, a local doctor examined Simenon and diagnosed a serious heart illness, advising him to cut back on his favourite pastimes of pipe smoking, excessive eating, alcohol, and sex. Simenon began working on his memoirs ''Je me souviens'' (I remember), intended as a letter to his son from a father who would soon be dead.  A second medical opinion was later sought, and Simenon was assured his heart was sound.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 192-95</ref>

Simenon returned to writing Maigret stories and novels, completing two in 1940 and three in 1941. He also wrote longer novels such as ''Pedigree,'' a fictionalised reworking of ''Je me souviens''. As a popular, non-Jewish author who avoided war themes and anti-German sentiments, Simenon had few problems in having his works published at a time of censorship and paper restrictions.<ref>Marnham (1994). p 199</ref>

Among his major works written during the war years are ''[[La Veuve Couderc|La veuve Couderc]]'' (''The Widow Couderc'') (1942), ''Le fuite de M. Monde (Monsieur Monde Vanishes'') (published 1945), and ''Pedigree'' (published 1948)''.''<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 202</ref> Simenon also conducted correspondence, most notably with André Gide. Gide considered ''La veuve Couderc'' superior to [[Albert Camus|Camus']] ''[[The Stranger (Camus novel)|The Stranger]]'' which was published around the same time and has a similar main character and themes.<ref>Marnham (1994). p. 221</ref><ref name="Theroux2">{{cite book |last=Theroux |first=Paul |title=Figures in a Landscape: People & Places |date=2018 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Eamon Dolan |isbn=9780544870307 |location=New York |pages=95–106}}</ref>

During the war, Simenon sold the film rights to five of his novels to [[Continental Films]], which was funded by the German government and banned the participation of Jews. The Continental production of Simenon's ''Les inconnus dans la maison'' (''Strangers in the House'') had exaggerated anti-Semitic themes which are not in the novel. Resistance underground newspapers began attacking Continental Films and anyone who took their money.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 206-08</ref>

In 1942, the French ''[[Commissariat-General for Jewish Affairs|Commissariat-Géneral aux Questions Juives]]'' notified Simenon that they suspected him of being Jewish and gave him one month to prove he was not. Simenon was able to obtain the necessary certificates of birth and baptism through his mother, and soon after the Simenons moved to a more remote village in the Vendée.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 200-01</ref>

In 1944, Régine discovered Simenon's long-term affair with Boule, and Simenon also confessed to his numerous other affairs. The couple agreed to remain married for the sake of their child, but to give each other their sexual freedom.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 209-10</ref>

In November 1944, following the German retreat, Simenon, Marc and Boule moved to a hotel in the resort town of [[Les Sables-d'Olonne|Les Sables d'Olonne]], while Régine returned to their house near La Rochelle which had now been evacuated by the Germans. In January 1945, Simenon was placed under house arrest by the police and the [[French Forces of the Interior]] on suspicion of collaboration. After three months of investigations, he was cleared of all charges.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 214-16</ref>

Simenon went to Paris in May 1945 while Marc and Boule returned to their house near La Rochelle with Régine. Simenon, possibly out of concern that the [[French Communist Party]] might take over France, had decided to move to America. The rest of the family soon joined him in Paris and Simenon used his contacts to secure the required travel documents for America. Régine, however, refused to travel to America with Marc unless Boule stayed behind in France. Simenon reluctantly agreed to Régine's demand.<ref>Marnham (1994). pp. 218-20, 223-24</ref>