La Jument perdue
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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La Jument perdue (1948, English: The runaway mare, [not translated]) is a roman dur by Georges Simenon. It tells the story of a rancher who suspects during 38 years that his former business partner had tried to kill him.
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Summary
A half-faded letter found at an auction in a trunk once belonging to a certain Ronald Phelps, a geologist who had once worked for a local mining company, sheds new light on thirty-eight years of Curly John's life. Until then, Curly John had believed that Andy Spencer (now known as the "unnameable") had tried to have him killed one day in October 1909, and had then married the youngest daughter of the wealthy Mike O'Hara, with the sole aim of taking over their joint share of the ranch, on which he knew ore would be discovered.
But the letter calls everything into question. It was sent to an unknown addressee, two days before the attempted murder, by a certain Little Harry, then the owner of a gambling house in the mining town of Sunburn. It contains the name of the culprit, indicated by an initial that appears to be an H, but could also be an A, an N, a B or an R. Is Andy Spencer the culprit? Or does the H refer to old O'Hara, father of his friend Peggy Clum and father-in-law of his rival? Or is it someone unknown?
By dint of perseverance and reflection, Curly John finally finds the culprit: it's Aloso Riales, the former steward of the ranch. Aloso had guessed that the land contained a vein and had called in Phelps, the geologist, who soon led the case for his own benefit. The letter warned the mysterious addressee of the latter's plans: as Andy Spencer had gambling debts with Little Harry (Phelps's accomplice), John had to be killed and Andy forced to sell. Aloso had taken care of the job, hiring a henchman. Spencer is therefore innocent.
For her part, Peggy Clum believed her father - who had business in common with Little Harry - guilty of the assassination attempt. Her flight to John's house proves her wrong, as she finds the envelope with her father's name on it. John is then reconciled with Andy Spencer, who had been compromised in a trial in Washington.
Description of the work
A narrative that recounts events through the eyes of the main character. The main character has to carry out a kind of investigation, in the course of which he tries to retrace events that happened many years ago: hence the retrospective nature of the story.
Space and time
Space
Tucson (Arizona) and surrounding area; Suburn, former mining town turned spa town; Bisbee, mining town.
Weather
October 1947.
Characters
Main character
John Evans, known as Curly John, American. Former miner and rancher of the "Jument-Perdue". Single. Age 68.
Other characters
- Andy Spencer, John's former partner and now Tuscon's richest man, aged 68.
- Peggy Clum, eldest daughter of Mike O'Hara, widow and close friend of John O'Hara.
- Mathilda Evans, elder sister of Curly John, with whom she lives, aged 73
- Aloso Riales, steward of the ranch in 1909, now a merchant in Bisbee.
- Mike O'Hara, a wealthy Tucson businessman in 1909, Spencer's father-in-law, dead for fifteen years at the time of the story.
- Little Harry, owner of a gambling house in Sunburn in 1909.
- Ronald Phelps, an Englishman and geologist by profession.
(These last three characters belong only to the "past" of the novel).
