The Austere Academy
First edition cover
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| 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 |
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Publication date
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August 31, 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 225 |
| ISBN | (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 43952131 |
| Fic 21 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.S6795 Au 2000 |
| Preceded by | The Miserable Mill |
| Followed by | The Ersatz Elevator |
The Austere Academy is the fifth novel in the children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. It was set to be released in paperback under the name The Austere Academy: or, Kidnapping!, but the release was canceled for unknown reasons. 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 another disguise.
The book begins with the Baudelaire orphans and Mr. Poe on the grounds of Prufrock Preparatory School. Violet Baudelaire, 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 school's motto: Memento Mori (Remember You Will Die).
They go to meet Vice Principal Nero, the arrogant head of the school. He explains the rules of Prufrock Prep, reassuring them that his advanced computer system will keep their enemy, Count Olaf, away, but that due to a lack of parental permission to sleep in the students' dormitory, the children will live in the "Orphans' Shack". He also explains that Sunny will have to work as his assistant, as she is too young to go to school.
Reluctantly, the Baudelaire orphans go to the shack and find that it is crawling with crabs and has dripping fungus and horrible wallpaper. The orphans go to lunch; Carmelita Spats mocks them again as they try to sit down. Duncan and Isadora Quagmire ask the Baudelaires to sit with them. The Quagmires 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 poet (who writes couplets). They both have notebooks, or commonplace books, which they use to write down observations and notions.
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