Una noche en Dieppe, cuando llega el barco de Newhaven, Pitt Brown deja inconsciente a Teddy Baster y se hunde abruptamente en las aguas del puerto, arrastrando una maleta con él. Louis Maloin, que lo ha visto todo desde su cabina de guardagujas, lo recupera sin que nadie lo sepa. Entonces se encuentra, para su gran asombro, en posesión de una fortuna: el producto del robo que Pitt Brown acaba de cometer en Londres en perjuicio de Harold Mitchel, director del Palladium donde trabajaba.

Death on the Docks
Review of the Penguin Classics paperback edition (2020) of a new translation by Howard Curtis of the French language original "L'Homme de Londres" (1934)

The Man from London is the first of my readings of Georges Simenon's romans durs (French: hard novels) which was his personal category for his non-Chief Inspector Maigret fiction. This is somewhat like Graham Greene, who divided his work into his "entertainments" and his actual "novels." Similar to Greene, the borders between the two areas are quite flexible as we are still dealing with issues of morals and ethics. Simenon's romans durs are definitely in the noir category though, as compared to the sometimes lighter Maigrets where the often cantankerous Chief Inspector provides a solution and the guilty are brought to justice.

The Man from London is at first an unknown character who commits a murder on the Dieppe docks, which is observed by a railway signalman from his observation tower. A briefcase falls into the water but is retrieved by the signalman after the murderer has run away. It contains a small fortune in banknotes and the railway worker decides to keep it rather than turn it in to the authorities. The murderer eventually returns to the scene and begins an unsuccessful search for the briefcase. His attention is drawn to the observation tower and following his suspicions he begins stalking the signalman to his haunts and home. The two characters circle each other for the rest of the book until a fatal conclusion is reached.

See cover image at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Georges_Simenon.jpg/22...
Cover of the first French language edition published by Fayard in 1934. Image sourced from French Wikipedia

I've now read over a dozen of the early Simenon novellas/novels in the past four weeks and they continue to impress with how different they are not only from each other, but also from other "Golden Age of Crime" novels of that interwar era. I'm going to read about a dozen of the Chief Inspector Maigret books and a half-dozen of the non-Maigret in this deep dive of early Simenon. Many of the non-Maigret books are being translated into English for the first time and with 500 books in total there are probably quite a few yet to go.

Trivia and Links
The Man from London has been adapted three times as a feature film and once as a television episode. The 1st film adaptation was the French language "L'Homme de Londres" (1943) dir. Henri Lecoin. Some stills and scenes from the film can be viewed in this French language overview and analysis on YouTube here.

The 2nd film adaptation was the English language "Temptation Harbour" (1947) dir. Lance Comfort. The entire film can be viewed on YouTube here.

The 3rd film adaptation was the English language "The Man from London" (2007) dir. Béla Tarr with a script by regular collaborator, novelist [author:László Krasznahorkai|69287]. A trailer can be viewed on YouTube here.

The TV adaptation was as Episode 9 of the limited French language series "L'Heure Simenon" (The Simenon Hour) (1986-1988) as La Riche homme. "The Simenon Hour" was a series of 13 adaptations of the non-Inspector Maigret novels. ( )

Mettiamo subito in chiaro una cosa: nonostante Maigret, definire Simenon un giallista è riduttivo; è uno scrittore di talento, letterariamente anni luce davanti ai mestieranti come la Christie (e non lo intendo in senso dispregiativo, Dame Agatha è una delle mie autrici preferite ed ha elevato il mestiere ad arte).
Con questa premessa non sarà una sopresa il fatto che le atmosfere in questo libro siano eccezionalmente vivide, tanto che sembrerà davvero di aggirarci tra l'umidità e la desolazione del porto di Dieppe. I personaggi poi sono caratterizzati egregiamente, con pochi tratti abbiamo subito un'idea della loro personalità.
Il problema è che la parte propriamente mistery/ thriller fa acqua da tutte le parti. E' un paradosso lo so, ma a volte per scrivere bene un giallo serve più mestiere che talento, è quello che permette di capire come venire incontro ai gusti del pubblico e come tenere sempre alta la curiosità; qui invece la voglia di continuare a leggere è poca ed il coinvolgimento basso: non era questo che cercavo.
Buon romanzo, giallo mediocre. ( )

Una noche de invierno, en el puerto francés de Dieppe, desde lo alto de su solitaria atalaya de guardagujas ferroviario, Louis Maloin observa, sin ser visto, el acostumbrado trajín nocturno que provoca la llegada de un barco. Hace mucho frío pero, excepcionalmente, no hay niebla. Aburrido, Maloin observa a los viajeros cuando, de súbito, contempla una escena que lo conmociona: un hombre cae empujado al agua abrazado a una maleta mientras su asesino huye amparado por la oscuridad de la dársena. Poco después, tras pensarlo mucho, Maloin baja de su cabina, se sumerge en las aguas del muelle y recupera la maleta. La curiosidad lo vence y… el contenido de la maleta lo deja sin aliento. Para colmo, al cabo de unos días, Maloin descubre en la ciudad la presencia del asesino… ( )

Au moment même, on les prend pour des heures comme les autres et, après coup seulement, on s'aperçoit que c'étaient des heures exceptionnelles, on s'acharne à en reconstituer le fil perdu, a en remettre bout à bout les minutes éparses. Pourquoi, ce soir-là, Maloin était-il parti de chez lui de mauvaise humeur? On avait dîné à sept heures, comme d'habitude. II y avait des harengs grillés, puisque c'était la saison. Ernest, le gamin, avait mangé proprement.
Maitenant, Maloin se souvenait que sa femme avait dit : « Henriette est venue tout à l'heure. - Encore ! »