All his novels, indeed his entire life, are dedicated to the search for the >>naked human being<< And he also tried to capture the nature of people on the way along France's rivers and canals - for the simple reason that cities and villages have always been built on the water. At the end of March 1928, Georges Simenon boarded a five-and-a-half-metre boat: the Ginette was to be his home in the months that followed. With him: his wife Tigy, the housekeeper (and Simenon's secret lover) Boule, the Great Dane Olaf and the Royal typewriter, on which he wrote not only the reports collected in this volume, but also countless dime novels. So it went from north to south, from east to west through the whole of France. And even at the first locks, Simenon had the feeling of discovering a new universe. Far away from the hustle and bustle of the capital, the young captain found a different language, foreign customs and traditions - and his own amazement at this very different France on the banks of the Sá2one, the Rhône and many canals.