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Maigret and the Wine Merchant Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Maigret and the Wine Merchant


Maigret is interrogating Théo Stiernet, a young man who'd killed his own grandmother for a few francs, when a message comes in from the 17th that Oscar Chabut, a wealthy wine merchant, had been killed. Going to the scene, he recognizes the house in the Rue Fortuny, belonging to Mrs. Blanche, which Oscar Chabut was leaving when he was shot. Maigret finds Mrs. Blanche, and after a while Chabut's private secretary, Anne-Marie Boutin, the Grasshopper, with whom he'd gone there once a week. Chabut's wife is a beautiful woman in her forties, and when Maigret goes to their house in the Place des Vosges, she seems no more upset than Anne-Marie had been. Chabut had been a fanatic womanizer, and seemingly had gone out of his way to make enemies. Jeanne Chabut, his wife, prepares a long list of possible liaisons for Maigret. During his investigation, Maigret receives an anonymous phone call, say that Chabut was a swine. Maigret suspects it's the murderer, and that he'd seen him in the street. The Grasshopper remembers that the former bookkeeper, Gilbert Pigou, had been fired in a crude way not six months before. He becomes the focus of Maigret's investigation, and calls again, apparently having followed Maigret around. Finally, when Maigret has set a manhunt in progress, Pigou shows up late at night at Maigret's house to surrender. Chabut had fired him in a way to make him more or less unemployable, and his poverty and hatred of Chabut had finally led to the killing.
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The review of this Book prepared by Dana Samson



Chapter Analysis of Maigret and the Wine Merchant

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Plot & Themes

Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases 40%Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives 40%Feelings, relationships, character bio/development 10%How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) 10% Tone of story    -   Dry-cynical How difficult to spot villain?    -   Challenging Time/era of story:    -   1960's-1970's What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot?    -   nearly 100% Kind of investigator    -   police procedural, Foreign Kid or adult book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book Crime Thriller    -   Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown)    -   Yes

Main Character

Gender    -   Male Profession/status:    -   police/lawman Age:    -   40's-50's Ethnicity/Race    -   French Unusual characteristics:    -   Super genius

Setting

Europe    -   Yes European country:    -   France

Writing Style

Accounts of torture and death?    -   moderately detailed references to deaths Amount of dialog    -   significantly more descript than dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like Maigret and the Wine Merchant

Georges Simenon Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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