title: Maigret's Christmas
author:  Georges Simenon 
description: <div>"Maigret . . . ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals." -- <i>People</i><br><br>It's Christmastime in Paris, and the great detective Maigret is investigating holiday mayhem in nine delightful short stories. The mysteries abound: an otherwise sensible little girl insists that she has seen Father Christmas, a statement alarming to her neighbors, Monsieur and Madame Maigret. Then, a choirboy helps the inspector solve a crime while he lies in bed with a cold; and another boy, pursued by a criminal, ingeniously leaves a trail to help Maigret track him. Many of these stories feature observant and resourceful children, frightened yet resolute, who bring out a paternal streak in the childless Maigret. The rapport between the inspector and these youthful heroes imparts a delightful freshness to this holiday collection--a cornucopia for fans of Maigret and mysteries.<br><br><br>"Simenon created one of the great moral detectives . . . . a master of the slow unfolding of the criminal mind." --John Mortimer<br><br>Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was born in Li&egrave;ge, Belgium. He published his first novel at seventeen and went on to write more than two hundred novels, becoming one of the world's most prolific and bestselling authors. His books have sold more than 500 million copies and have been translated into fifty languages.<br><br>Maigret is a registered trademark of the Estate of Georges Simenon<br></div>
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  ## Georges Simenon
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  ### A MAIGRET CHRISTMAS
  
  
  #### _Translated by_ DAVID COWARD
  
  
  
  
  
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  ## Contents
  
  
  [1\. A Maigret Christmas](part001.xhtml)
  
  
  [2\. Seven Small Crosses in a Notebook](part002.xhtml)
  
  
  [3\. The Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes](part003.xhtml)
  
  
  [Read More](appendix001.xhtml)
  
  
  [Follow Penguin](endpage.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ## A MAIGRET CHRISTMAS
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## 1.
  
  
  It was always the same, every time. As he settled down in bed, he had sighed,
  as usual:
  
  
  ‘Tomorrow, I shall sleep in.’
  
  
  And Madame Maigret had taken him at his word, as though the years had taught
  her nothing, as if she had not learned to attach no importance whatsoever to
  sentiments uttered in this way. She could have slept in too. There was no
  reason why she should get up early.
  
  
  But it was not