Maigret Forum - The Bulletin Board (original) (raw)

Thanks and a question about Frederick Forsyth and Maigret

5/1/2020 – Thank you for your site all about my favorite French detective! I have been a fan of Maigret for many, many years, ever since I read an entry in Otto Penzler’s Detectionary regarding an atmospheric-sounding tale called Maigret at the Crossroads. This remains my favorite early Maigret, only surpassed by Maigret Sets a Trap, which is actually my favorite police procedural ever. (What a shame at how badly Rowan Atkinson’s efforts butchered each story, but so it goes, sigh...) I must say, however, that the insights all of the reviewers, from Peter Foord to Jerome to certainly Murielle Wenger, have only added to my enjoyment in the whole canon.

There was a question, however, that I have wondered about for ages, that I have asked many fans and readers, but I have never really found any answer from anyone. I was always struck by the similarities between Maigret and Frederick Forsyth’s Claude Lebel, deputy chief of the Criminal Division of the Police Judiciare, described by Commissioner Berthier as “the best detective in France.” Indeed, in my mind’s eye, I always picture Maigret as looking like Michael Lonsdale: bulky, strong, resolute. (Similarly, I always tend to think of Janvier as a young Derek Jacobi, who played Lebel’s assistant Caron.)

Are Murielle, anyone else, or you aware of any source confirming that Forsyth meant Lebel as an homage to Simenon and Maigret? I have never really seen anything on this, only snippets on the web, and mostly when comparing Atkinson’s efforts to past portrayals. The only difference between the two characters I can spot is that at one point in the novel, Lebel engages in more deductive reasoning about the Jackal’s potential new cover identity than I am used to from Maigret, but other than that, to me they are virtually the same man. I can only think that Forsyth was a great fan of Georges Simenon (who wouldn’t be?) and figured that, if you need a character in your thriller to be “the best detective in France,” who would be a better model than Commissaire Jules Maigret?

Best and highest regards,
Patrick P. Zaretski, Esq.
New Jersey