{{short description|Novel by Georges Simenon}} {{Infobox book | name = Maigret's Failure | image = UnEchecDeMaigret.jpg | image_size = | border = | alt = | caption = First edition | author = Georges Simenon | audio_read_by = | title_orig = Un échec de Maigret | orig_lang_code = fr | title_working = | translator = Daphne Woodward | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = | language = French | series = Inspector Jules Maigret | release_number = | subject = | genre = Detective fiction | set_in = | publisher = Presses de la Cité | publisher2 = Hamish Hamilton | pub_date = 1956 | english_pub_date = 1962 | media_type = Print | pages = | awards = | isbn = | isbn_note = | oclc = | dewey = | congress = | preceded_by = Maigret Sets a Trap | followed_by = Maigret's Little Joke | native_wikisource = | wikisource = | notes = | exclude_cover = | website = }}
'''''Maigret's Failure''''' (French: ''Un échec de Maigret'') is a detective novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon featuring his famous creation Jules Maigret.
==Overview== Fumal, an infamous bully and the owner of meat-packing industry, orders Maigret to protect him after he comes to believe his life is in danger. However, Maigret, who was one of Fumal's targets for offense as a child, does very little to protect the man. Later, Fumal is viciously slaughtered; Maigret blames himself for not preventing the murder, and must go about the agonizing task of discovering the murdered butcher's killer.
==Publishing history== Originally published in French in 1956 by Presses de la Cité as ''Un Echec de Maigret'', the first English translation (translated by Daphne Woodward) was published by Hamish Hamilton in 1962. It was included in two anthologies, ''A Maigret Quartet'' (1972) and ''A Maigret Trio'' (1983).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trussel.com/maig/maig.htm#ECH|title = Maigret Bibliography}}</ref>
==Adaptations== A BBC TV version of the book first aired on November 6, 1961, under the title '''Death of a Butcher''' with Rupert Davies playing Maigret.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trussel.com/maig/maigfilm.htm#T31|title = Maigret Films & TV}}</ref>
Jean Richard played Maigret in the 1987 French TV version<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trussel.com/maig/maigfilm.htm#T207|title=Maigret Films & TV}}</ref> and Bruno Cremer in the 2003 adaptation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trussel.com/maig/maigfilm.htm#T237|title=Maigret Films & TV}}</ref>
It was adapted again as the third and fourth episodes of the 2025 ''PBS Masterpiece'' series ''Maigret'' with Benjamin Wainwright in the lead.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Georges Simenon}} {{Maigret}}
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Category:1956 Belgian novels Category:Jules Maigret novels Category:Presses de la Cité books Category:1950s mystery novels Category:1950s French-language novels
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