The Crime at Lock 14
Author | Georges Simenon |
---|---|
Original title | French: Le Charretier de la Providence |
Language | French |
Series | Inspector Jules Maigret |
Genre | Detective fiction |
Publisher | A. Fayard |
Publication date | 1931 |
Publication place | Belgium |
Media type | |
Preceded by | The Strange Case of Peter the Lett |
Followed by | The Death of Monsieur Gallet |
The Crime at Lock 14 (Fr. Le Charretier de la Providence, "The Carter of the Providence") is a detective novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon featuring his character Inspector Jules Maigret.
Plot summary
Maigret is called to a crime scene at Lock 14 on the Marne Canal, near Dizy, when a woman's body is found in the stable of a canalside inn. She had been strangled, and was still wearing her jewellery, pointing to a crime of passion. The woman is identified as Mary Lampson, wife of an English "milord" travelling through France on his yacht, the Southern Cross. Lampson and his odd collection of passengers are questioned, but Maigret comes no nearer to the truth. Also under suspicion are the crew of the barge Providence, particularly its carter, who had spent the night in the stable, possibly on the night of the murder. He turns out to be a simple soul, incapable of harm. When a second member of the Southern Cross's party is murdered, Maigret has to uncover the secrets of all concerned, including the mild-mannered carter of the Providence.[1][2]
Background
Simenon was fond of boats and spent six months in 1928 navigating the rivers and canals of France. "The carter of la providence" was one of several novels written on board his boat, the Ostrogoth.
"I had my second boat built at Fecamp, the Ostrogoth. I brought it to Paris, where I had it christened (on a whim) by a priest at Notre Dame...then Belgium, Holland, Germany".[1]
Other titles
The book has been translated three times into English: in 1934 by Anthony Abbot as The Crime at Lock 14, in 1963 by Robert Baldick as Maigret meets a Milord (reissued in 2003 as Lock 14), and in 2014 by David Coward as The Carter of 'La Providence'.[3]
Adaptations
The story has been adapted four times for film and television: in English in 1963 as The Crime at Lock 14, with Rupert Davies in the main role; in Japanese in 1978 as Keishi to Minami Jūjisei ("the Southern Cross") with Kinya Aikawa; in French in 1980 as Le Charretier de "La Providence" with Jean Richard, and again in 2001 as Maigret et la croqueuse de diamants ("Maigret and the gold-diggers (lit. "diamond eaters")", with Bruno Cremer.[4]
Notes
References
- Georges Simenon The Carter of "la Providence" 1931; translated D Coward 2014 Penguin Classics, London ISBN 978 0 141 39346 9
External links
- Maigret at trussel.com
- v
- t
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novels
- The Strange Case of Peter the Lett (1931)
- The Crime at Lock 14 (1931)
- The Death of Monsieur Gallet (1931)
- The Crime of Inspector Maigret (1931)
- A Battle of Nerves (1931)
- Maigret and the Yellow Dog (1931)
- Maigret at the Crossroads (1931)
- The Sailors' Rendezvous (1931)
- Maigret at the Gai-Moulin (1931)
- Guinguette by the Seine (1931)
- The Shadow in the Courtyard (1932)
- Maigret Goes Home (1932)
- The Flemish Shop (1932)
- Death of a Harbour Master (1932)
- The Madman of Bergerac (1932)
- Maigret in Exile (1940)
- Maigret and the Hotel Majestic (1942)
- Maigret and the Spinster (1942)
- To Any Lengths (1944)
- Maigret and the Toy Village (1944)
- Maigret in Retirement (1947)
- Maigret in New York (1947)
- A Summer Holiday (1948)
- Maigret's Dead Man (1948)
- Maigret's First Case (1948)
- My Friend Maigret (1949)
- Maigret and the Coroner (1949)
- Maigret and the Old Lady (1950)
- Madame Maigret's Own Case (1950)
- Maigret's Memoirs (1950)
- Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper (1950)
- Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (1951)
- Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters (1951)
- Maigret's Revolver (1952)
- Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard (1953)
- Maigret's Mistake (1953)
- Maigret Goes to School (1954)
- Maigret and the Headless Corpse (1955)
- Maigret Sets a Trap (1955)
- Maigret's Failure (1956)
- Maigret Has Scruples (1958)
- Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (1961)
- Maigret and the Saturday Caller (1962)
- Maigret and the Dosser (1963)
- Maigret on the Defensive (1964)
- The Patience of Maigret (1965)
- Maigret Hesitates (1968)
- Maigret and the Killer (1969)
- Maigret and the Mad Woman (1970)
- Maigret and the Loner (1971)
- Maigret and Monsieur Charles (1972)
- Les Fiançailles de M. Hire (1933)
- The Night Club (1933)
- Tropic Moon (1933)
- Chit of a Girl (1938)
- The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (1938)
- Le Bourgmestre de Furnes (1939)
- The Strangers in the House (1940)
- Strange Inheritance (1941)
- La Veuve Couderc (1942)
- Young Cardinaud (1942)
- Act of Passion (1946)
- The Mahé Circle (1946)
- The Couple from Poitiers (1946)
- Pedigree (1948)
- The Bottom of the Bottle (1949)
- Belle (1952)
- Red Lights (1953)
- The Watchmaker of Everton (1954)
- The Little Man from Archangel (1956)
- The Cat (1967)
- The Man on the Bench in the Barn (1968)
- The Prison (1968)
- The Disappearance of Odile (1971)
- The Glass Cage (1971)
- The Man Who Wasn't Maigret (1992 biography)