Georges Simenon (Author) Georges Simenon was born in Liege, Belgium, in 1903. He is best know in Britain as the author of the Maigret novels and his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life. David Coward (Translator) David Coward is Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Leeds and has translated many books from French for Penguin Classics.
Heart-tugging stories [...] his understanding of human frailties and sympathy for the underdog shine through on every page * Daily Mail * Powerfully evocative of impoverished, pre-modern Paris * Evening Standard * 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 * Guardian * A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness * Independent * The most addictive of writers . . . a unique teller of tales * Observer *