The Pitards (Romans Durs)

Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was born in Liège, Belgium. An intrepid traveler with a profound interest in people, Simenon strove on and off the page to understand-and not to judge-the human condition in all its shades. His books include the Inspector Maigret series and a richly varied body of wider work united by its evocative power, its economy of means, and its penetrating psychological insight. He is among the most widely read writers in the global canon.

David Bellos is a well-known translator of modern French fiction and the author of several prizewinning biographies of French literary figures. His irreverent study of translation, Is That a Fish in Your Ear? (2011), was a runner-up for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Bellos teaches French and comparative literature at Princeton University and holds the rank of Officier in France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.