The Man from London (Simenon novel)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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L'Homme de Londres (1934) is a 'roman dur' by Georges Simenon. It was translated as the The Man from London.
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Summary
One night, in Dieppe, when the ship from Newhaven arrives, Teddy Baster is knocked out by Pitt Brown and sinks into the harbor, taking a suitcase with him. Louis Maloin, who saw everything from his cabin as a switchman, secretly retrieves it. Thus, without really understanding, he finds himself in possession of a fortune: the proceeds of the robbery that Pitt Brown has just committed in London to the detriment of Harold Mitchel, the manager of the "Palladium" where he is employed.
Pitt Brown suspects that Louis Maloin has witnessed the murder and Louis Maloin guesses that Pitt Brown is aware of his act. Thus, a silent sympathy is gradually born between the two men, who spy on each other. But new events soon occur: Pitt Brown must hide in the city because of the arrival of Inspector Molisson, accompanied by Harold Mitchel, who has come to the city with his daughter Eva.
Meanwhile, Louis Maloin, intoxicated by the possession of the pounds sterling, indulges in a few whims by making various purchases which he especially benefits his daughter Henriette. He who, in his family, led his routine life with obedience, feels little by little, thanks to this money, to become another man, authoritarian, stubborn. But his power weighs on him because of his heavy secret.
But his daughter discovers Brown in the cabin where their dory is located, and she locks him up. After a few days, Louis Maloin decides to bring food to the Englishman. But, attacked by him, he kills him with a hook. Then he brings the stolen money back to Molisson and accuses himself of the murder. No one understands his determination and coolness. No one can guess that now that everything is over, nothing matters to him. Neither the fear of his family, nor the judgment of Justice. He will be sentenced to five years in prison.
Adaptations
Au cinéma
- 1943 : L'Homme de Londres, film français réalisé par Henri Decoin, avec Fernand Ledoux
- 1947 : Le Port de la tentation (Temptation Harbour), film britannique réalisé par Lance Comfort, avec Robert Newton
- 2007 : L'Homme de Londres (A Londoni férfi), film hongrois réalisé par Béla Tarr, avec Miroslav Krobot
À la télévision
- 1988 : L'Homme de Londres, épisode 9 de la série télévisée française L'Heure Simenon, réalisé par Jan Keja
Éditions