Georges Joseph Christian Simenon, principal pseudonym of Georges Sim (1903-1989), Belgian-French novelist, born in Liège. Simenon, a prolific author, wrote hundreds of popular novels, employing a variety of pseudonyms. He is best known as the author of a series of detective novels about a French police officer, Inspector Maigret, whose work is marked by unusual psychological insight. These novels achieved outstanding success in Europe and the United States, and editions have appeared in many languages. Among the many titles published in the U.S. are The Patience of Maigret (1940) and Maigret Hesitates (1970). Simenon's other novels, most of which also deal with crime, include The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (1946) and Confessional (1968). His autobiography, Intimate Memoirs (1981; trans. 1984), details his own neurotic tensions and includes the story of his beloved daughter's suicide.