The Austere Academy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Brett Helquist |
| Cover artist | Brett Helquist |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Released | August 31, 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 221 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-440863-9 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | The Miserable Mill |
| Followed by | The Ersatz Elevator |
The Austere Academy is the fifth novel in the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The book begins with the Baudelaire orphans and Mr. Poe on the grounds outside of the school, Prufrock Preparatory School (Prufrock Prep. for short). Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire meet Carmelita Spats, a rude girl who calls the Baudelaire orphans "cakesniffers". Mr. Poe tells the children to go to Vice Principal Nero's office. On their way there, they notice the schools' motto: Memento Mori (Remember You Will Die).
They soon meet Vice Principal Nero. He explains the absurd rules of Prufrock Prep., and tells them that his advanced computer system will keep their enemy, Count Olaf, away. He also tells them about the fine dormitories they have, but that unless students have parental permission, they must sleep on hay in a tin shack (known as the Orphan's Shack). He considers himself to be a genius, and thinks that he plays the violin well, but in fact he is stupid and arrogant, and cannot play the violin at all.
The Baudelaire orphans find that the shack is crawling with crabs, dripping fungus and has horrible wallpaper (green with pink hearts). The orphans then go to lunch, where two women with metal masks serve them their food. Carmelita Spats mocks them again as they try to sit down. They are somewhat rescued by Duncan and Isadora Quagmire. The Quagmires tell about themselves. They are in a similar situation to that of the Baudelaire orphans. They are triplets, but their brother, Quigley Quagmire, died in a fire along with their parents. They, like the Baudelaire orphans, were left an enormous fortune (in the form of sapphires). Duncan would like to be a journalist, and Isadora is a competent poet (particularly in the form of couplets). They both have notebooks, which they use often. They become good friends with the Baudelaire orphans.
Violet's teacher, Mr. Remora, is a man who tells very short, dull stories while eating bananas, and the children take notes. Klaus's teacher, Mrs. Bass, has an irritating obsession with the metric system. She makes her students measure countless objects, then she writes the measurements on the board. Because Prufrock Prep doesn't have a class for babies, Sunny becomes Nero's administrative assistant.
They are then introduced to Coach Genghis. The Baudelaire orphans immediately recognize him as Count Olaf in disguise, but pretend not to recognize him. He makes an unusual remark about how orphans have stronger legs. Then they all rush to the auditorium to listen to Vice Principal Nero's daily concert, where they are forced, along with the rest of the school, to listen to his violin playing. At the concert, the Baudelaire orphans decide that they will go to Vice Principal Nero's office the next day to drop hints about Olaf. However, when they attempt to do this, Count Olaf enters. The Baudelaire orphans try to jokingly unmask him, but he eludes them.
At lunch, Carmelita Spats delivers the message that the Baudelaire orphans are to meet Coach Genghis on the front lawn at sundown. Olaf makes them paint a circle, and then run "Special Orphan Running Exercises" (S.O.R.E.) laps around the luminous circle at night, for nine days. As the Baudelaire orphans run the laps, they become tired. This causes Violet and Klaus to fail their tests, being too exhausted to be able to tell one end of a metric ruler from another. Sunny is unable to find any staples.
Vice Principal Nero tells the children that if they keep failing their tests, they are going to be tutored by Coach Genghis, and that Sunny will be fired. He says that they will have extra-hard comprehensive exams the next morning. He also demands that they give him candy and give Carmelita earrings, to repay them for not tipping Carmelita and missing Nero's concert.
The Quagmires disguise themselves as the Baudelaire orphans, get a sack of flour to represent Sunny, and do the exercises for them so that the Baudelaire orphans can study and make staples. The Quagmires leave their notebooks with Violet and Klaus so that they can study. Violet invents a staple-making device (using a small crab, a potato, metal rods, creamed spinach, and a fork) and makes staples while Klaus reads the notebooks.
The next morning, Vice Principal Nero and the two teachers (Mr. Remora and Mrs. Bass) come to the Orphans Shack. They test Violet and Klaus, and give Sunny a stack of papers to staple. Then Coach Genghis arrives. He discovers, by trying to kick Sunny, that the Sunny has been substituted with a sack of flour. Olaf uncovers the Quagmires' disguises as a result, and gives them canteen duty. The orphans, unable to stand it any longer, attempt to reveal that Coach Genghis is Count Olaf. About that time, Mr. Poe comes to deliver the candy and earrings. Vice Principal Nero tells him that the orphans have been caught cheating, and announces that the Baudelaire orphans are going to be expelled.
The Baudelaire orphans tell Mr. Poe that Coach Genghis is Count Olaf. Count Olaf runs out of the shack, and as the orphans look under the arch, they see him kidnapping the Quagmires. The two lunch ladies with metal masks are revealed as being Count Olaf's assistants, the white faced women, when they remove their masks. The orphans see Olaf's assistants shoving the Quagmires into an old car. Before they close the door, Duncan yells to the Baudelaire orphans "Look in the notebooks! V.F.D.!" before they are captured. Unfortunately, Olaf steals the notebooks before they drive away. The orphans are then taken away to be placed with another guardian.
[edit] Cultural references and literary allusions
- The names Isadora and Duncan came from the name Isadora Duncan, who was a famous dancer.
- Prufrock may be a reference to the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, a poem by T. S. Eliot.
- Vice Principal Nero is likely a reference to Nero a Roman Emperor who is famous for supposedly playing the violin as Rome burned down.
- Genghis Khan, a famous Mongolian chieftain shares his name with Coach Genghis, Count Olaf's disguise in this book.
- Mrs. Bass and Mr. Remora share their names with types of fish, as did the former gym teacher Miss Tench.
[edit] Other Clues
- On the last page, there is a fish (possibly a red herring or salmon) on the car's bumper sticker foreshadowing The Ersatz Elevator.
[edit] Cover images
 US cover |
 UK cover |
