Exclusively for Foyles, Penguin’s commissioning editor Josephine Greywoode interviews George Simenon’s son John about A Maigret Christmas and his memories of Christmas with his father. Maigret also returns to ITV on Christmas Eve at 8.30pm with an adaptation from Maigret in Montmartre.
Josephine: A Maigret Christmas opens with a touching domestic scene: Christmas morning in the Maigret household. Are there any aspects that are familiar to you from your childhood? And what represents the polar opposite?
John: Just like Maigret, my father was not a man to linger in bed. But unlike Maigret, and despite a demanding work schedule, he made it a point to spend as much time as possible at home, as he had children and a full family life. Although he wrote about five novels a year, each book would take about 15 days to write and review, which left more than two thirds of the year available for other activities. Even while writing, he always attended the family lunches and dinners, which we took at home and at regular times, and was available in the afternoons for long walks in the countryside, and in the evenings for watching the news on TV together followed by exciting discussions about current affairs.
Read the rest of the interview here