It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
The Mahé Circle

The Mahé Circle

Summary

'Powerful . . . unputdownably gripping' Guardian

'The island itself. Its throbbing heat as if in a belljar under the sun, the scorpion in his son's bed, the deafening sound of cicadas'


During his first holiday on the island of Porquerolles Dr Mahé caught a glimpse of something irresistible. As the memory continues to haunt him, he falls prey to a delusion that may offer an escape from his conventional existence - or may destroy him. This is the first English translation of The Mahé Circle, Simenon's dark, malevolent depiction of an ordinary man trapped in mundanity and consumed by obsession.

'Extraordinary . . . Simenon is one of the most important writers of the 20th century' Independent

Reviews

  • One of Georges Simenon's most powerful roman durs - the non-Maigret novels in which ordinary lives are suddenly, and at times seemingly inexplicably, unsettled and irrevocably changed. Written in Simenon's spare signature style, it's unputdownably gripping
    John Gray, Guardian

About the author

Georges Simenon

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.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more