Contains twenty-seven alphabetically arranged essays that provide biographical and critical information about significant French novelists active between 1930 and 1960; each with a list of principal works and a bibliography.

A guide to series fiction lists popular series, identifies novels by character, and offers guidance on the order in which to read unnumbered series.

For nearly a century, the work of Belgian crime writer and psychological novelist Georges Simenon, creator of Chief Inspector Maigret, has captivated readers worldwide. This investigation situates Simenon's work in its historical context and interprets it as a reaction to shifting gender relations in Western society. Simenon's compelling narratives capture the anxieties of men whose patriarchal position was under threat in an era of insurgent feminist movements. These concerns are also evident in Simenon's pervasive preoccupation with sexuality, as well as his political stance that stems from his petit-bourgeois upbringing. This groundbreaking study includes interwoven commentary on all 191 novels Simenon published under his own name, including several that have never been translated into English, as well as a number of short stories and several pseudonymous works.

Maigret interroge Carl Andersen depuis dix-sept heures sans aveux. Il est soit innocent, soit un très bon menteur. Alors pourquoi le corps d'un marchand de diamants a-t-il été retrouvé dans son manoir isolé? Pourquoi sa sœur est-elle toujours enfermée dans sa chambre? Et pourquoi tout le monde à Three Widows Crossroads a-t-il quelque chose à cacher?

This collection presents new essays in the complex field of French literary adaptation. Using a variety of textual and interpretive approaches, it sheds light on issues of gender, sexuality, class, politics and social conventions while acknowledging a range of contexts, from the commercial to the archival and the aesthetic. The chapters, written by eminent international scholars, run chronologically from The Count of Monte Cristo through Proust and Bonjour, Tristesse to Philippe Djian’s Oh... (adapted for the screen as Elle). Collectively, they fill a need for contemporary discussions on the significance of France’s literary representations in the history of global cinema.