The Mahé Circle

'In Porquerolles, things were hostile to him. He had tried in vain to tame them. Back there, all the time, he had felt as if there was a tremendous chaos around him, a kind of life that was too vivid, so that the slightest contact with it made his blood pulse more quickly, and prompted a rising fever inside him.'

During his first holiday on the island of Porquerolles Dr Mahe caught a glimpse of something irresistible. As the memory continues to haunt him, he falls prey to a delusion that may offer an escape from his conventional existence - or may destroy him. This is the first English translation of The Mahe Circle, a dark, malevolent depiction of an ordinary man trapped in mundanity and consumed by obsession.

One of Simenon's critically renowned and psychologically rich romans durs,  The Mahé Circle will delight lifelong fans and new readers alike.

Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories has made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

Sian Reynolds was born in Cardiff, and taught at both Sussex University and Edinburgh University before serving as Chair of French at Stirling University from 1999-2004. She has translated numerous books from the French, both fiction and non-fiction, including works by crime writer Fred Vargas.