The Bottom of the Bottle (novel)

1949 novel by Georges Simenon

The Bottom of the Bottle

Author| Georges Simenon
Original title| Le Fond de la Bouteille
Translator| Cornelia Schaeffer
Language| French
Genre| Psychological novel
Published| 1949 Presses de la Cité
Publisher| 1954 Doubleday (US)
1977 Hamish Hamilton (UK)[1]
Media type| Print
OCLC| 3540323

The Bottom of the Bottle is a novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon. The original French version Le Fond de la Bouteille, written in 1948 when Simenon was living in Arizona, appeared in 1949. The novel is among his romans durs, a term roughly translated as hard, or harrowing, novels; it was used by Simenon for what he regarded as his serious literary works.[1]

The story is set in Arizona near the Mexican border: a rancher's life is disrupted by the appearance of his brother, who has escaped from jail and is determined to get across the Santa Cruz River to Mexico.

## Summary

[edit]

Patrick Martin Ashbridge, known as P.M., is a lawyer and rancher in Arizona near the border with Mexico. Returning home from a bar as rain ends a dry period, he discovers his brother Donald by his ranch. P.M. has not seen him for a long time and hardly knows his recent life. He read in newspapers that Donald was imprisoned for wounding a police officer; he also had letters about him from their sister Emily, who has a career in Los Angeles. Don has escaped from Joliet Prison and wants to cross the Santa Cruz River to Mexico. The river, higher because of the rain, is now impossible to cross. P.M. tells his wife Nora that Don is his friend Eric Bell, who has been ill and is not allowed to drink.

As he talks to Don, P.M. thinks back about their early family life in poor circumstances, and the different lives of Don, Emily and himself. P.M.'s first marriage ended when he had ambitions to become a lawyer; his wealth has come from his second wife Nora. Don, despite his desperate past, seems to be critical of P.M.'s career.

At a party at a neighbouring ranch, P.M. gets a phone call from Emily, who talks to Don; this increases the guests' curiosity about him. Emily gave Don money to reach Arizona and is anxious that Don should reach Nogales just over the border, where his wife Mildred and children are living in desperate circumstances. P.M. goes home with Don for him to phone Mildred, and Don starts to drink. Don has an aggressive attitude to P.M., determined that P.M. must help him across the river. Back at the party, Don, getting increasingly drunk, hits P.M. who returns with blows; they are separated, and Don disappears.

Nora, on being told all about Don, says she had guessed he was P.M.'s brother. In their car, they look for him. At the Santa Cruz River, where people often drive to look at the river when it is high, they meet Falk, a neighbour who lives alone; he tells them food, alcohol and a gun were stolen from his house. P.M. hears that Don was told about a likely crossing place at Mule Pass, and he leaves home on a horse, having chosen the best one for crossing the river. He meets Falk on the way and they ride together. They find Don at the river. P.M. gives Don his horse and, borrowing Falk's horse, follows Don across: Don reaches the other side, but P.M. is swept away.

## Film

[edit]

The book was made into the 1956 film The Bottom of the Bottle, directed by Henry Hathaway and featuring Joseph Cotten as P.M., Van Johnson as Donald and Ruth Roman as Nora.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Carter, David. The Pocket Essential Georges Simenon. The Pocket Essentials, 2003.

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Georges Simenon

* Bibliography

Jules Maigret
novels|

* The Strange Case of Peter the Lett (1931)
* The Crime at Lock 14 (1931)
* The Death of Monsieur Gallet (1931)
* The Crime of Inspector Maigret (1931)
* A Battle of Nerves (1931)
* Maigret and the Yellow Dog (1931)
* Maigret at the Crossroads (1931)
* The Sailors' Rendezvous (1931)
* Maigret at the Gai-Moulin (1931)
* Guinguette by the Seine (1931)
* The Shadow in the Courtyard (1932)
* Maigret Goes Home (1932)
* The Flemish Shop (1932)
* Death of a Harbour Master (1932)
* The Madman of Bergerac (1932)
* Maigret in Exile (1940)
* Maigret and the Hotel Majestic (1942)
* Maigret and the Spinster (1942)
* To Any Lengths (1944)
* Maigret and the Toy Village (1944)
* Maigret in Retirement (1947)
* Maigret in New York (1947)
* A Summer Holiday (1948)
* Maigret's Dead Man (1948)
* Maigret's First Case (1948)
* My Friend Maigret (1949)
* Maigret and the Coroner (1949)
* Maigret and the Old Lady (1950)
* Madame Maigret's Own Case (1950)
* Maigret's Memoirs (1950)
* Inspector Maigret and the Strangled Stripper (1950)
* Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (1951)
* Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters (1951)
* Maigret's Revolver (1952)
* Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard (1953)
* Maigret's Mistake (1953)
* Maigret Goes to School (1954)
* Maigret and the Headless Corpse (1955)
* Maigret Sets a Trap (1955)
* Maigret's Failure (1956)
* Maigret Has Scruples (1958)
* Maigret and the Lazy Burglar (1961)
* Maigret and the Saturday Caller (1962)
* Maigret and the Dosser (1963)
* Maigret on the Defensive (1964)
* The Patience of Maigret (1965)
* Maigret Hesitates (1968)
* Maigret and the Killer (1969)
* Maigret and the Mad Woman (1970)
* Maigret and the Loner (1971)
* Maigret and Monsieur Charles (1972)

Other novels|

* Les Fiançailles de M. Hire (1933)
* The Night Club (1933)
* Tropic Moon (1933)
* Chit of a Girl (1938)
* The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (1938)
* Le Bourgmestre de Furnes (1939)
* The Strangers in the House (1940)
* Strange Inheritance (1941)
* La Veuve Couderc (1942)
* Young Cardinaud (1942)
* Act of Passion (1946)
* The Mahé Circle (1946)
* The Couple from Poitiers (1946)
* Pedigree (1948)
* The Bottom of the Bottle (1949)
* Belle (1952)
* Red Lights (1953)
* The Watchmaker of Everton (1954)
* The Little Man from Archangel (1956)
* The Cat (1967)
* The Man on the Bench in the Barn (1968)
* The Prison (1968)
* The Disappearance of Odile (1971)
* The Glass Cage (1971)

Works about|

* The Man Who Wasn't Maigret (1992 biography)

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