Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was born in Liege, Belgium. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of more than four hundred novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. Linda Asher is the former fiction editor at the New Yorker and the award-winning translator of works by Milan Kundera and Victor Hugo, among other celebrated authors.
Praise for Georges Simenon: One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories. --The Guardian These Maigret books are as timeless as Paris itself. --The Washington Post Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals. --People I love reading Simenon. He makes me think of Chekhov. --William Faulkner The greatest of all, the most genuine novelist we have had in literature. --Andr Gide A supreme writer . . . Unforgettable vividness. --The Independent (London) Superb . . . The most addictive of writers . . . A unique teller of tales. --The Observer (London) Compelling, remorseless, brilliant. --John Gray A truly wonderful writer . . . Marvelously readable--lucid, simple, absolutely in tune with the world he creates. --Muriel Spark A novelist who entered his fictional world as if he were a part of it. --Peter Ackroyd Extraordinary masterpieces of the twentieth century. --John Banville