| Plot Summary of The Lock at Charenton |
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"Maigret is called to Charenton, Lock No. 1, where the owner of barges and quarries, Émile Ducrau had been stabbed and thrown into the canal, but without being killed. Maigret goes to his house, and finds he is someone Maigret likes. Ducrau offers 20,000 francs for the solution to the crime. Maigret meets his wife, hears about his son, and Gassin, his old buddy, who runs his barge the Golden Fleece with his retarded daughter, Aline Gassin. Maigret has seen Gassin in a drunken stupor at the café. It was he who found Ducrau in the water. Maigret vists Aline, who is afraid of Ducrau. Maigret and Ducrau walk to the Pont-Neuf, where Ducrau goes into the Tabac Henri IV, a kind of freighter's bourse. While he is there a boat comes up the river with the news that his son, Jean Ducrau, has hanged himself. In a note the boy claimed he'd been the one who'd stabbed his father.
The next day Bébert, an assistant lock-keeper is found hanging from the upper lock-gate. Ducrau confronts Maigret with a newspaper article that says he will retire within a week, well before retirement age. Maigret says it's true, and Ducrau offers him a job at up to 200,000 francs a year, which Maigret refuses. At the funeral Gassin is found to be carrying a revolver, and he is arrested and the gun taken away. Maigret has him released. Ducrau has confided to Maigret that Aline is his daughter. He invites Maigret to Samois, his country house on the Seine. Gassin appears nearby, followed by Lucas. Ducrau invites him in, and admits that he killed Bébert when he found him spying on Aline. During the night Gassin hangs himself. Ducrau is looking forward to a few years rest in jail, for faking the attack upon himself.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Lock at Charenton |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
Murder of certain profession?
- boat people
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, Foreign
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Genius (really!)
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Unusual forms of death
- hanging
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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