Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. He is best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret novels and his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

This collection of 75 handsome paperback edition marks a truly significant publishing achievement. Penguin has celebrated the great works of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.

Simenon would begin his writing with a medical check-up to ensure he was not ill, and that his family was also not ill. He would then seclude himself in his room for the next two weeks and write, drinking red wine.