A Series of Unfortunate Events
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A Series of Unfortunate Events is a children's book series, written by Daniel Handler under the pseudonym of Lemony Snicket, and illustrated by Brett Helquist. There are twelve books in the series as of June 2006, but it is known that the final series will consist of thirteen regular books (each with thirteen chapters), and two spin-offs, and the currently unreleased The Beatrice Letters. The first book in the series, The Bad Beginning, was published in 1999 by HarperCollins Children's Books. The thirteenth and final book, The End, is scheduled to be released on Friday, October 13, 2006.
A film version, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, based on the first three books, was released on December 17, 2004.
General plot
The series follows the unlucky life of the three siblings — Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire and Sunny Baudelaire — after the sudden deaths of their parents in a fire at their family home. In The Bad Beginning, they are sent to live with their supposed third cousin, four times removed (or their fourth cousin three times removed), Count Olaf, a most unpleasant, evil man. In the following books, Olaf often disguises himself to get nearer to the orphans in hope of stealing their fortune. The orphans routinely try to get help from their parent's financial advisor Mr. Poe, but Poe is often oblivious to Olaf and the danger he represents. He originally assumes that Olaf is a very generous man for watching the Baudelaires, but eventually realizes that Olaf is a villain, and the horrors that are around him. The series took a drastic turn after Book 7, with the kids not really having any official guardian in most of the books and Count Olaf not using disguises anymore.The Baudelaires find out about a secret organization, V.F.D., which Count Olaf is involved with. Gradually, they find out more and more about V.F.D. and what a large part it has played (or is playing) in their lives.
Themes
Much is made of the unhappy nature of the story. The book's back-cover blurbs warn the reader of the dreadful things described within each volume and respectfully suggest reading something else instead. Each volume begins with a dedication to the memory of Lemony Snicket's beloved Beatrice (e.g.. from The Bad Beginning: "To Beatrice - darling, dearest, dead.").While the books are marketed primarily to children, they are also written with adult readers in mind; the series features many references likely to make sense only to adults. Many of the characters' names allude to other fictional works or real people with macabre connections. For instance, the Baudelaire orphans are named for Charles Baudelaire, and Sunny and Klaus take their first names from Claus and Sunny von Bülow; Uncle Monty warns the children never to let the Virginian Wolfsnake near a typewriter, referencing both Monty Python and Virginia Woolf; the two triplets that the Baudelaire children befriend are named Isadora and Duncan after Isadora Duncan; and Snicket's dead former lover Beatrice may be a reference to Beatrice Portinari. The names that Violet and Klaus take, Beverly and Elliot, when they are disguised as circus freaks, are the names of the twin gynecologist brothers that Jeremy Irons played in the movie Dead Ringers. Poe's children, Edgar and Albert, refer to Edgar Allan Poe (the name Albert while possibly chosen so as to not make it too obvious, may also refer to Edgar Albert Guest who is also mentioned in book 11). Also relating to Edgar Allan Poe is the Nevermore Tree, which is the roosting place of the V.F.D. crows in The Vile Village. The word "Nevermore" is repeated throughout his poem, The Raven. Also, the character Esmé Squalor is most likely a reference to J. D. Salinger's novel, For Esmé with Love and Squalor. Interestly enough, Salinger's initials (J. S.) are a common set of initials throughout the series belonging to Jacques Snicket, Justice Strauss and Esmé's ex-husband Jerome Squalor. It should be noted that Salinger's first name is Jerome as well.
The books seem to be set in a fictional universe with stylistic similarities to both the 19th century and the 1930s, though with contemporary, seemingly anachronistic technology and scientific knowledge. Although the books can be classed as 'steampunk', in that they involve young people struggling against great odds in an anachronistic setting, the addition, in later books, of the mysterious organization known as V.F.D. have begun to push the story into the new genre of post-steampunk (in the same way that later additions to the cyberpunk genre are now classed as postcyberpunk).
The books can also be classified as absurdist fiction, due to their eccentric characters, quirky writing style and generally improbable storylines. Some might argue that these books could also be classified as black comedy, because of the mix of humorous and macabre elements.
At the end of each book, there is also a letter to Snicket's editor, instructing him on how to find the next book.
General storyline
Each of the Series of Unfortunate Events picks up from the last, finding the three orphans in some new situation, typically not of their making. The locale of each book's critical events is identified in the book's title.
The thirteen books have two distinct phases. After the first book sets the tone, the following five books follow its same basic structure:
- The Baudelaires are left in the care of an eccentric guardian or guardians, usually extremely inadequate. Aside from Uncle Monty in The Reptile Room, all guardians have been either unconcerned with the orphans' care or too afraid to do anything about it.
- Count Olaf usually appears in a disguise so effective that seemingly only the Baudelaires can recognize him. When they try to warn the adults about him, they will be disregarded.
- Usually only Sunny's siblings, Violet and Klaus, can understand and translate her bizarre (e.g. "Freijip","Sanks", "Varni", etc.) form of baby talk.
- Count Olaf will often have one or more disguised assistants: the Hook-Handed Man, the person of indeterminate gender, the bald man with the big nose, or the two powder-faced women.
- A symbol of a giant eye is found in connection with almost every villain (principal villains are usually Olaf in disguise).
- Violet's inventions, Klaus's knowledge, and/or Sunny's sharp teeth save them from tragic events and Count Olaf's latest scheme.
- Count Olaf's identity will be revealed to the shocked adults, who don't seem to remember the Baudelaires warned them he was Count Olaf in the first place.
- Count Olaf will escape at the last minute and the Baudelaires will be sent to live with another guardian.
In these later books, while V.F.D. and associated elements have become more and more important, the children have become correspondingly more self-reliant. They often search out information on their own rather than waiting for Olaf to find them. After the seventh book, the Baudelaires are now on the run after the Daily Punctilio publishes false information accusing them of killing Count Olaf (incorrectly identified as "Count Omar"). Mr. Poe is no longer seeking guardians for them, and any adult acting in the best interests of the children in future books could be considered unofficial guardians at best.
- Beginning with Book 8, The Hostile Hospital, it is the Baudelaires who begin to adopt disguises to fool Olaf and his troupe, and not the reverse. Since Count Olaf is not really dead, but everyone believes that he is, he no longer needs to wear a disguise.
- Olaf's goals expand as well. Count Olaf no longer focuses on obtaining only the Baudelaire fortune; he is also attempting to get his hands on the Quagmire sapphires, the Snicket file, and the sugar bowl.
- The Baudelaires are seeking to find more information about the secret of Olaf's tattooed ankle and the organization V.F.D., which seem to be connected to a mysterious string of arsons. They are also wondering about the importance of the sugar bowl and whether their parents are still alive.
- The later books will reveal that the eye is the symbol for the organization V.F.D. and that these very letters are disguised within it (The Carnivorous Carnival). In fact, the entire series has been about V.F.D, first mentioned by the Quagmire triplets in The Austere Academy.
- The reader discovers that many of the various guardians, villains and auxiliary characters that the orphans encountered in the first six books are somehow involved in V.F.D, including their parents. V.F.D was once a virtuous secret organization, dedicated to fighting fires - figurative and real. But it has undergone a schism that has pitted former members against one another -- some still fighting fires, others starting them.
- More interestingly, many of the main characters - including Olaf - have been orphaned. Many have been orphaned by members of the organization, often having their homes burned down. Others have been killed by fires as well.
- A number of these are groups of three children - the Baudelaires, the Quagmires, the Snickets, the powder-faced women (who had a sibling die in a fire) and the Denouements.
- Olaf's minions begin to die and are replaced by new accomplices who join his troupe. These newcomers usually shared a bond with the Baudelaires before crossing over to Olaf's wickedness. The most important is Esmé Squalor, the city's sixth most important financial advisor, who begins to chase the Baudelaires after book six. She is Count Olaf's girlfriend, till they break up at the end of The Penultimate Peril.
- All three children develop in both subtle and obvious ways. Klaus and Violet both celebrate birthdays, and both meet romantic interests (although one ends in some angst when she joins Olaf's troupe). Sunny shifts from being a helpless baby and begins to speak in sophisticated single word utterances, a variety of incomplete sentences, and some 4-10 word sentences as well. Their meaning is either disguised by being spelled phonetically (e.g. 'surchmi' in The Slippery Slope) or being written in other languages. Sunny also outgrows her teeth as her primary skill and adds cooking to her list of abilities, solving problems with both these skills.
Lemony Snicket's writing style
- Lemony Snicket narrates with respectful, subtle humor, usually when explaining words, details, and analogies. He often uses a deliberate spoiler for suspense.
- Despite the general absurdity of the books' storylines, Lemony Snicket will continuously maintain the story is true and that it is his "solemn duty" to record it.
- Lemony Snicket will hold an attitude toward the Baudelaires which could almost be described as hero-worship. His portrayal of the other characters will also be one-sided.
- Snicket will often go off on humorous asides, talking about his personal life, opinions of various matters, etc. The details of his alleged personal life are largely absurd. For example, Snicket claims to have been chased by an angry mob for sixteen miles.
- Snicket will display a greater aversion for macabre elements than the average reader. Whenever the story is reaching a depressing point, he will beg the reader to stop reading and imagine a happy ending.
- Snicket will display a cynical outlook on life. It's implied he became embittered due to events that occurred in his past.
- Snicket often talks about Beatrice, the woman he loved (this may be a reference to Beatrice Portinari, who was unrequitedly loved by the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri and appears as a character in two of his works).
- Snicket often uses strange and specific similes, in which an event in the story is described as being like a situation that would rarely occur, though Snicket goes into great detail about it, perhaps describing past experiences of his such as described above.
- Snicket will translate for the youngest Baudelaire orphan, Sunny, who in the early books can only say words or phrases that only make sense to her siblings. This becomes less common as Sunny begins to speak real words.
- Snicket always criticizes the fairy tales which are always dull and do not make much sense.
- When describing a character that the Baudelaires have met before, Snicket often describes the character first and does not reveal the name of the character until the last moment.
Unanswered questions
- Who is Beatrice?
- How did Fernald (the Hook-Handed Man) lose his hands?
- What is Count Olaf's surname?
- What is Justice Strauss's forename?
- Is Mr. Poe a villain or a volunteer, or is he somehow unaware of the schism? Is he involved with V.F.D. at all?
- Did Aunt Josephine really die at the end of The Wide Window?
- What happened to Hector and the Quagmires after they were attacked by the villain's eagles?
- How and why did Beatrice die?
- Does every location the Baudelaires go to have something to do with V.F.D.?
- Who leads V.F.D., if anyone?
- Who was the woman who took in the Denouements when they were children?
- Who was the woman that told Captain Widdershins and "Cookie" to leave the ship? (As told in book the eleventh when all the questions were being asked at the end)
- Is there a relation between the two women listed above?
- Who acted as the imposter J.S.?
- Why did Lemony Snicket base his stories on the Ugly Duckling?
- Described in the Unauthorized Biography, there is the record of a meeting of V.F.D. There are no people names told, just letters. Which letter represents which person?
- Who was the real J.S.?
- In The Vile Village, Duncan says of Jacques Snicket, "He's the brother of a man who..." Has he heard of Lemony Snicket?
- Are Gregor and Ike Anwhistle related to Hector or Hal? (This would fit the sequential-letter pattern: D-E-F Denouement, G-H-I Anwhistle, J-K-L Snicket.)
- If so, shouldn't there be another set with initials A-B-C, possibly including Bertrand Baudelaire or Beatrice? Will Olaf fit into an M-N-O set? (It was hinted in the Unauthorized Autobiography that Olaf was in an M-N-O sequence through a family tree, and having a noose on O's branch)
- Are either of the Baudelaire parents alive? (It was told in the tenth book that the children's mother, if any parent, is alive.)
- What is the important object inside the sugar bowl?
- Why wasn't the sugar bowl more important before the second half of the series?
- Who are the two judges (the man with no hair and a beard, and the woman with no beard but hair)?
- Who are Fiona and Fernald's parents?
- What was the question mark object that scared Olaf's submarine away in The Grim Grotto?
- Where is Captain Widdershins and why did he leave the Baudelaires?
- Who killed Count Olaf's parents with poison darts? (It is implied that it was Baudelaire parents.)
- Why won't Lemony Snicket reveal himself?
- Is it possible that Beatrice is the Baudelaires' mother?
- In the Ersatz Elevator, there was a tunnel from the elevator shaft to the ashes of the Baudelaire mansion. Is it possible that the fire was started this way?
- Who was the mysterious man that tried to take the Baudelaires in the taxi in chapter 10 of The Penultimate Peril?(It gives a lot of clues that it might be Lemony Snicket)
- Who died and who escaped in the fire at Hotel Denouement?
- What will Count Olaf do now that the Baudelaires are finally in his clutches?
- Will the Quagmires appear in Book the Thirteenth? Will Lemony Snicket and/or Beatrice appear also?
- What is Sir's name?
- What was the cause of the schism?
- Will pregnant Kit Snicket give birth to her baby in Book the Thirteenth? If so, what importance will it have to the series?
- What does V.F.D. stand for?
- Will the Baudelaires die in The End? and if so is that why Lemony Snicket tells their story with no help from them?
Other notes
- In the 7th book, the The Vile Village, Olaf's name in disguise is "Detective Dupin." This idea most likely came from Edgar Allan Poe's detective character, and the very first detective character ever, "Auguste Dupin."
- Despite the death of their parents and the "series of unfortunate events" they have endured, the Baudelaires seem to suffer few psychological effects. However, in The Penultimate Peril they did begin to wonder if their actions made them treacherous or not. This was changed in the film.
- In every book the Baudelaires encounter and/or use a library of some sort.
- Around the cover illustration of each of the books is a border. The border describes an aspect of the book.
- On the first page of every book, the ex libris, there are two circular pictures. The first one, on the top of the page, usually has the Baudelaires in it. The second picture, on the bottom, is of Count Olaf and the disguise he wears in the book. However, in the ninth book (The Carnivorous Carnival) and each subsequent novel, the picture of Olaf is the same one that appears in the first book (The Bad Beginning) and it is the Baudelaire’s picture which changes according to the disguise or outfit they wear. (This is because Olaf didn't have a disgiuse at that time, but the Baudelaires were disguised as "freaks")
- Each book has thirteen chapters, thirteen being regarded by some as an "unlucky" number.
- The name Violet Baudelaire is oddly similar to the name of Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it is possible that this is just a coincidence.
- The End is tentatively scheduled for release on Friday the 13th of October 2006, an unlucky day for the superstitious.
- In each book, a page after the story ends, there is a picture which reveals something about the next book (e.g. In the first book, there is a snake which hints to the reptiles in the next book).
- After the fourth book, the state of the letter from Snicket to his editor seems to direct him to the location of the next book hints at the setting of the next story.
Distribution
Books
| # | Title | Guardian | Olaf (2-8)/Baudelaire's Disguise (8+) | Olaf's Associate that leaves or dies in this book | Other characters introduced | Deaths | Library | Other significant events | Snicket's letter at end (referring to how to find the next book) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Bad Beginning | Count Olaf | |||||||
| Violet, Klaus, Sunny, Mr. Poe, Justice Strauss, Count Olaf's theatre troupe | Bertrand & Mrs. Baudelaire | Law | Series begins | On normal sheet of paper | |||||
| 2 | The Reptile Room | Uncle Monty | Stephano | ||||||
| Bruce | Gustav Sebald, Uncle Monty | Herpetological | Olaf's first definite murder | On normal sheet of paper | |||||
| 3 | The Wide Window | Aunt Josephine | Captain "Julio" Sham | ||||||
| Aunt Josephine (Baudelaires' Guardian; ?) | Grammatical | House falls into lake | On normal sheet of paper | ||||||
| 4 | The Miserable Mill | Sir and Charles | Shirley T. Sinoit-Pécer | ||||||
| Dr. Orwell, Phil | The previous foreman (?), Dr. Orwell | The Lumbermill's Library | Klaus is hypnotized multiple times | On ripped sheet of paper | |||||
| 5 | The Austere Academy | Prufrock Prep | Coach Genghis | ||||||
| Vice Principal Nero, Carmelita Spats, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, Mr. Remora, Mrs. Bass | Miss Tench (?) | School | Quagmires are kidnapped, first mention of V.F.D. | On fancy piece of paper | |||||
| 6 | The Ersatz Elevator | Jerome and Esmé Squalor | Gunther | ||||||
| Books on what's "in" | Baudelaires discover tunnel | On sopping wet sheet of paper | |||||||
| 7 | The Vile Village | Village of Fowl Devotees, specifically Hector | Detective Dupin | ||||||
| Hector, Jacques Snicket, The Council of Elders
| Jacques Snicket | Rules, Hector's secret library | Baudelaires framed for murder Quagmires escape in balloon | As a telegram | |||||
| 8 | The Hostile Hospital | Volunteers Fighting Disease | Mattathias and Doctors | The person of indeterminate gender and great girth | Hal | The person of indeterminate gender (?), Babs the head of Human Resources | Library of Records | Baudelaires ponder their own morality | Letter is almost destroyed, only a few scraps remain |
| 9 | The Carnivorous Carnival | Madame Lulu | Beverly and Elliot (two headed person) and Chabo the Wolf Baby | The Bald-Headed Man | Colette, Hugo, Kevin | The Bald-Headed Man, Madame Lulu | Archival | Snicket file discovered orphans find V.F.D. base | On normal sheet of paper; letters fade away |
| 10 | The Slippery Slope | Bruce and the Snow Scouts | Snow Scouts | The Two White-Faced Women | Quigley Quagmire, The Man With a Beard but No Hair and the Woman With Hair but No Beard | The two White-Faced Women (?) | V.F.D. | V.F.D. base burned, Carmelita returns, sugar bowl first mentioned in dialogue, Sunny grows up | On sopping wet sheet of paper; first time book name is hidden |
| 11 | The Grim Grotto | Captain Widdershins | Scuba Divers | ||||||
| Fiona, Kit Snicket | Mycological | Olaf gets medusoid mycelium, Fernald meets Baudelaires | Several torn sheets of paper from Hotel Denouement; book name hidden again | ||||||
| 12 | The Penultimate Peril | Dewey Denouement | Concierges | Esme Squalor | Frank and Ernest Denouement | Dewey Denouement | Hotel/Catalog | Revealed that Count Olaf was orphaned when his parents were killed by poison darts, last safe place burned down; an uncertain number of regular characters are killed | On napkin; book name is mentioned - but unknown to the reader |
| 13 | The End | Count Olaf | |||||||
| Series ends |
Audio books
Most of the series of unabridged audio books are read by actor Tim Curry, though Books III-V are read by Handler as Lemony Snicket. All of the recordings include a loosely related song by The Gothic Archies, a novelty band featuring lyrics by Handler's Magnetic Fields band mate Stephin Merritt.[link] On October 9th, 2006 in the UK and October 10th, 2006 in the US, The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Eventswill be released. The songs will be a collection of all the songs on the thirteen audio books of the series along with two bonus tracks - one extra from The Canivorous Carnival, and 1 apparently about The Gothic Archies themselves.
- *Book One-The Bad Beginning: Scream and Run Away
- *Book Two-The Reptile Room: In The Reptile Room
- *Book Three-The Wide Window: The World is a Very Scary Place
- *Book Four-The Miserable Mill: Dreary, Dreary
- *Book Five-The Austere Academy: When You Play the Violin
- *Book Six-The Ersatz Elevator: This Abyss
- *Book Seven-The Vile Village: Crows
- *Book Eight-The Hostile Hospital: Smile! No One Cares How You Feel
- *Book Nine-The Carnivourous Carnival: Freakshow
- *Book Ten-The Slippery Slope: How Do You Slow This Thing Down?
- *Book Eleven-The Grim Grotto: A Million Mushrooms
- *Book Twelve-The Penultimate Peril: Things Are Not What They Appear
- *Book Thirteen-The End: Shipwrecked
- *Walking My Gargoyle (original song from The Carnivorous Carnival)
- *We Are The Gothic Archies (Bonus Track inspired by the series)
Film
- Main article: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
A film version, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, based on the first three books, was released on December 17, 2004. It stars Jim Carrey as Count Olaf, Meryl Streep as Aunt Josephine, Billy Connolly as Uncle Monty, Emily Browning as Violet, Liam Aiken as Klaus, Kara & Shelby Hoffman as Sunny, and Jude Law as the voice of Lemony Snicket. The film tie-in editions of the novels feature a variation on the usual reverse-psychology blurb: the blurb takes the form of a message from Count Olaf, listing the good points of the story (such as "a dashing count") but suggesting that it would be much easier and less boring to watch the movie instead.
Considering the success of the movie, the director and some of the lead actors hinted that they are keen on making a sequel, but no one has written a script as of yet. According to director Brad Silberling, the second movie would take its plot from the next few books. Also, Silberling is quite unhappy that the filming process took seven months instead of the seven weeks in which he claimed he could shoot the movie. Browning has said that any further films would have to be produced quickly, as the children do not age much throughout the book series. Other plot discrepancies, such as Klaus's glasses breaking in the Miserable Mill (he has glasses in the film, but rarely uses them) may also hinder the production of any sequel.
The film takes place in and around Boston, Massachusetts: The envelope at the end of the film is addressed to Boston, Mass. Perhaps incidentally, Viacom, Paramount's parent, owned 2 TV stations in Boston at the time of the film's release: CBS affiliate WBZ-TV, and UPN affiliate WSBK-TV (they are now owned by CBS Corporation).
See also
External links
- [Lemony Snicket official website]
- [UnfortunateEvents.com] - Official ASOUE website with the official forum, games, competitions, games and more.
- [Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Movie - Official Website]
- [Lemony Snicket's Informer] - An officially-approved "A Series of Unfortunate Events" Fansite with a popular unofficial forum.
- [The Quiet World] - An "A Series of Unfortunate Events" Fansite
- [SnickWiki] - A Snicket-centric Wiki
- [A Wiki of Unfortunate Events] - A Wiki for all things Lemony Snicket.
- [Unfortunate News Website]
- [Snicket fansite]
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