This 1958 novella is an astute psychological study of a politician in possession of the means to bring down a government
Kristen Treen
Sun 11 Mar 2012
In the France of Simenon's 1958 novella, a political storm is raging. The government has collapsed, giving way to media hype and fears of economic crisis. In the scramble to form a new coalition all eyes turn to the former president, a steely octogenarian long since self-exiled from Paris. Presiding over his anxiously awaited memoirs and a library riddled with damning documents, the premier possesses the means to expose his old attaché Chalamont, and destroy the government that Chalamont is desperately trying to forge.
