| Plot Summary of Maigret and the Wine Merchant |
|---|
"Maigret is interrogating Théo Stiernet, a young man who'd killed his own grandmother for a few francs, when a message comes in from the 17th that Oscar Chabut, a wealthy wine merchant, had been killed. Going to the scene, he recognizes the house in the Rue Fortuny, belonging to Mrs. Blanche, which Oscar Chabut was leaving when he was shot. Maigret finds Mrs. Blanche, and after a while Chabut's private secretary, Anne-Marie Boutin, the Grasshopper, with whom he'd gone there once a week. Chabut's wife is a beautiful woman in her forties, and when Maigret goes to their house in the Place des Vosges, she seems no more upset than Anne-Marie had been. Chabut had been a fanatic womanizer, and seemingly had gone out of his way to make enemies. Jeanne Chabut, his wife, prepares a long list of possible liaisons for Maigret. During his investigation, Maigret receives an anonymous phone call, say that Chabut was a swine. Maigret suspects it's the murderer, and that he'd seen him in the street. The Grasshopper remembers that the former bookkeeper, Gilbert Pigou, had been fired in a crude way not six months before. He becomes the focus of Maigret's investigation, and calls again, apparently having followed Maigret around. Finally, when Maigret has set a manhunt in progress, Pigou shows up late at night at Maigret's house to surrender. Chabut had fired him in a way to make him more or less unemployable, and his poverty and hatred of Chabut had finally led to the killing. "
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
|
|
|
| Review Analysis of Maigret and the Wine Merchant |
|---|
|
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).
|
|
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
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?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
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
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
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?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
|
|
