Editing Georges Simenon (section)

=== 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>