The Hostile Hospital
 |
|
| 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 |
Gothic fiction Absurdist fiction Steampunk Mystery |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
|
Publication date
|
September 2001 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 255 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | The Vile Village |
| Followed by | The Carnivorous Carnival |
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.
After escaping the Village of Fowl Devotees, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire arrive at a store to send a telegram to Mr. Poe, explaining their situation and pleading for help. The store's generous owner explains that a van of 'Volunteers Fighting Diseases' arrives once everyday for a gas refill. The van arrives, and the Baudelaires, thinking it to be the acrynom 'V.F.D', escape into it after the owner recognizes them as the accused murderers in The Daily Punctilio, an unreliable newspaper series.
The Baudelaires discover that Volunteers Fighting Diseases is a group of enthusiasts that visit Heimlich Hospital to increase the morale of patients, who believe that 'No News Is Good News', and therefore have never read The Daily Punctilio (and don't recognize the Baudelaires). One of the members suggest the Baudelaires seek a Library of Records to find their V.F.D.
The three then volunteer to aid Hal, a visually disabled elder who works in Heimlich Hospital's Library of Records. As he doesn't let them read any of the files, the Baudelaires regretfully trick him into giving them his keys to enter the library at night. While reading a file on the Baudelaires, in which only the thirteenth page remained since investigators have taken the rest, they discover that one of their parents may have survived or escaped the mansion's fire - however, Esme Squalor enters the library, intent on destroying them and the files to clear Count Olaf's name in the crimes he has committed.
...
Wikipedia