The End (novel)

Last updated
The End
TheEndBook.jpg
Author Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler)
Illustrator Brett Helquist
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series A Series of Unfortunate Events
Genre Gothic fiction
Absurdist fiction
Mystery
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
October 13, 2006
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages324
ISBN 0-06-441016-1
OCLC 70718171
LC Class PZ7.S6795 En 2006
Preceded by The Penultimate Peril  

Book the Thirteenth: The End is the thirteenth and final novel in the children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The book was released on Friday, October 13, 2006. [1]

Contents

Plot

The book begins with the Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf on a boat heading away from the burning Hotel Denouement. After a storm, the Baudelaires arrive and are welcomed on an island by a young girl named Friday. Count Olaf, however, is not welcomed due to his snobby attitude and death threat to Friday.

Later, the pregnant Kit Snicket (who first appeared in The Grim Grotto ) and a friendly snake known as the "incredibly deadly viper (a misnomer)" (which first appeared in The Reptile Room ) are shipwrecked on the island. Count Olaf disguises himself as Kit, but for the first time in the series, it fails to convince anybody. The Islanders, led by a man called Ishmael (who, multiple times, says that "he won't force them" to do what he wants), capture him and shun the Baudelaires for possessing forbidden items.

That night, two of the islanders sneak out to feed the children, asking them to join a mutiny. Agreeing, the Baudelaires go to the arboretum to collect weapons, where they discover a hidden room with a book that chronicles the history of the island. Ishmael arrives, explaining to the children that their parents were once the island's leaders and were responsible for many improvements in island life, but were eventually overthrown by Ishmael, who brought the island back to a simple and austere way of life while hoarding comforts for himself.

The Baudelaires and Ishmael go back to the other side of the island, where the mutiny is already underway. Ishmael harpoons Olaf in the stomach, inadvertently shattering the helmet containing the Medusoid Mycelium, a deadly fungus, infecting the island's entire population. The Baudelaires run back to the arboretum to find horseradish, a cure for the fungus. While reading through the book left by their parents to find where the horseradish is hidden, the three continue to be affected by the fungus called the Medusoid Mycelium and, after some deliberation, accept their deaths. They eventually find that the cure is in the hybridized apples on a tree in the arboretum. They gather apples for the other islanders, only to discover that the island people have abandoned the mutiny and boarded their outrigger canoe, preparing to leave the island. Ishmael promises that he will save the islanders by sailing to a horseradish factory, but refuses to give them the apples, despite having already consumed one himself. The Baudelaires manage to toss an apple to Friday before the canoe departs.

At this point, Kit is about to go into labor. Though she is succumbing to the fungus, she cannot eat the bitter apple due to its unhealthy effects on unborn babies. When the dying Olaf hears that she is still alive, he uses his last effort to get her safely down onto the beach, where he kisses Kit and dies soon after.

The Baudelaires help Kit give birth to a baby girl. Kit then dies after requesting that the orphans name the baby after their mother Beatrice. The Baudelaires spend the next year taking care of Kit's daughter, occasionally visiting the graves of Kit and Olaf.

After reading an entry from the history book written by their parents, the Baudelaires decide to leave the island with Beatrice in order to honor their parents' wishes. Despite their fears about the outside world, the children prepare a boat and supplies for their journey back to the mainland and Beatrice says her first word, which is "Beatrice".

Reception

With sales of over 2 million copies in the United States, The End was the bestselling children's book of 2006 according to Publishers Weekly , who also reported 3 million sales of the previous 12 books in the series in the same year. [2]

Translations

Adaptation

The book was adapted as the seventh and final episode of the third season of the television series adaptation produced by Netflix; the final book is adapted into a single episode. [3] In this version, there is no rebellion against Ishmael's rule and the children's parents left of their own volition. The television series also ends with a young Beatrice II, Kit's daughter, recounting their subsequent undocumented adventures to Lemony Snicket, a plot point implied to have occurred in The Beatrice Letters . [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemony Snicket</span> Pen name and fictional character

Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler. Handler has published various children's books under the name, including A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has sold over 60 million copies and spawned a 2004 film and Netflix TV series from 2017 to 2019 of the same name. Lemony Snicket also serves as the in-universe author who investigates and re-tells the story of the Baudelaire orphans in A Series of Unfortunate Events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Handler</span> American writer (born 1970)

Daniel Handler is an American author, musician, screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is best known for his children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Wrong Questions, published under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The former was adapted into a film in 2004 as well as a Netflix series from 2017 to 2019.

<i>A Series of Unfortunate Events</i> Book series by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their parents' death in a fire, the children are placed in the custody of a murderous villain, Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance and causes numerous disasters with the help of his accomplices as the children attempt to flee. As the plot progresses, the Baudelaires gradually confront further mysteries surrounding their family and deep conspiracies involving a secret society, which also involves Olaf and Snicket, the author's own fictional self-insert.

<i>The Bad Beginning</i> 1999 childrens novel

Book the First: The Bad Beginning is the first novel of the children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The novel tells the story of three children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, who become orphans following a fire and are sent to live with Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance.

<i>The Reptile Room</i> 1999 childrens novel

Book the Second: The Reptile Room is the second book in the children's series A Series of Unfortunate Events, written by Daniel Handler under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket. The book tells the story of the Baudelaire orphans, as they are sent to live with a distant relative named Montgomery Montgomery.

<i>The Wide Window</i> 2000 childrens novel

Book the Third: The Wide Window is the third novel of the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. In this novel, the Baudelaire orphans live with their aunt Josephine, who is seemingly scared of everything. The book was published on February 25, 2000 by HarperCollins and illustrated by Brett Helquist.

<i>The Austere Academy</i> 2000 childrens novel

Book the Fifth: The Austere Academy is the fifth novel in the children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The Baudelaire orphans are sent to a boarding school, overseen by monstrous employees. There, the orphans meet new friends, new enemies, and Count Olaf in disguises.

<i>The Ersatz Elevator</i> 2001 childrens novel

Book the Sixth: The Ersatz Elevator is the sixth novel of the children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The Baudelaires are sent to live with the wealthy Esmé and Jerome Squalor.

<i>The Vile Village</i> 2001 childrens novel

Book the Seventh: The Vile Village is the seventh novel in the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.

<i>The Hostile Hospital</i> 2001 childrens novel

Book the Eighth: The Hostile Hospital is the eighth novel in the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, the pseudonym of Daniel Handler. It takes place shortly after The Vile Village and is followed by a sequel, The Carnivorous Carnival.

<i>The Carnivorous Carnival</i> 2002 childrens novel

Book the Ninth: The Carnivorous Carnival is the ninth novel in the children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.

<i>The Slippery Slope</i> 2003 childrens novel

Book the Tenth: The Slippery Slope is the tenth novel in the children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. It was illustrated by Brett Helquist and published on September 23, 2003. In the novel, Violet and Klaus Baudelaire make their way up the Mortmain Mountains to rescue their sister Sunny from Count Olaf and his troupe. They meet Quigley Quagmire, a character who they thought to be dead, and visit the headquarters of a mysterious organization called "V.F.D." They are reunited with Sunny and manage to escape from Olaf. The book has received positive reviews and been translated into several different languages.

<i>The Grim Grotto</i> 2004 childrens novel by Lemony Snicket

Book the Eleventh: The Grim Grotto is the eleventh novel in the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The book was released on Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

<i>Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events</i> 2004 film by Brad Silberling

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a 2004 American black comedy adventure film directed by Brad Silberling from a screenplay by Robert Gordon, based on the first three novels of the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning (1999), The Reptile Room (1999), and The Wide Window (2000), by Lemony Snicket. It stars Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Timothy Spall, Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Cedric the Entertainer, Luis Guzmán, Jennifer Coolidge, and Meryl Streep, and Jude Law as the voice of Lemony Snicket.

<i>Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events</i> (video game) 2004 video game

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<i>The Penultimate Peril</i> 2005 childrens novel

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<i>The Beatrice Letters</i> 2006 book by Lemony Snicket

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemony Snicket bibliography</span>

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<i>A Series of Unfortunate Events</i> (TV series) American streaming television series

A Series of Unfortunate Events is an American black comedy drama television series based on the book series of the same name by Lemony Snicket for Netflix. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Warburton, Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes, K. Todd Freeman, and Presley Smith. Dylan Kingwell, Avi Lake, and Lucy Punch join the cast in the second season.

References

  1. Inskeep, Steve (13 October 2006). "Lemony Snicket Reaches 'The End'". NPR. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  2. Roback, Diane (March 26, 2007). "Lemony Endings, Sweet". Publishers Weekly . Vol. 254. p. 43.
  3. Snetiker, Marc (January 11, 2017). "Lemony Snicket speaks out about Netflix's Series of Unfortunate Events". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  4. "The End". A Series of Unfortunate Events. Season 3. Episode 7. January 1, 2019. Netflix.