| Plot Summary of Maigret Goes to School |
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"Joseph Gastin, a schoolmaster from Saint-André-sur-Mer, near La Rochelle, has been waiting for Maigret. The ex-postmistress of his little town, Léonie Birard, had been killed, shot in the eye with a 22 gun from some distance, as she looked out the window of her house. Gastin, regarded as an outsider in the village, is sure that he is regarded as the prime suspect. Maigret calls Lieutenant Daniélou and tells him he'll bring Gastin back, and learns from him of new evidence: one of the boys in Gastin's class, Marcel Sellier, has testified that he'd seen the teacher coming from the tool shed at the time the murder took place, and there was a 22 in the shed, belonging to Jean-Paul Gastin, his son. Gastin denied having gone to the shed. Arriving in Saint-André, Maigret checks into the inn, the Bon Coin, where he is surprised to discover that the maid & cook, Thérèse, is a woman he'd once met in his office in Paris.
Gastin is brought to the jail in La Rochelle. Maigret gets the feel of the town, and interviews the boy, Sellier, the son of the local policeman, who sticks to his story. No one is helpful, but on the day of Léonie's funeral, Maigret finally gets a chance for a private talk with Jean-Paul, who tells him that Marcel had lied, that he'd been at the other window, and therefore couldn't have seen anyone coming out of the toolshed. Besides, he'd seen his father go to the house for coffee, and come back. Realizing that Marcel is protecting someone, Maigret goes to the house of Joseph Rateau, son of the butcher, Marcellin Rateau. He'd been laid up with a broken leg, and his window was visible from both the school window and Léonie 's. Maigret gets him to confess that it was his father who'd shot her, with an unlucky shot. She'd been hated by everyone in town, and had taunted them all.
"
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maigret Goes to School |
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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%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, Foreign
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- life in small town
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 little/some
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
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?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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