Books
x dismiss this message

Did you know you can edit this page?

see page history

Description edit see section history

Dear Reader,
If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale, I'm afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy... read more

Summary edit see section history

After being taken away from their horrible guardian previously (the guardian was Count Olaf, who tried to steal their fortune), the three Baudelaire children are taken by Mr. Poe to their new guardian, Uncle Monty, who lives on Lousy Lane. According to Mr. Poe, Dr. Montgomery is the... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

After being taken away from their horrible guardian previously (the guardian was Count Olaf, who tried to steal their fortune), the three Baudelaire children are taken by Mr. Poe to their new guardian, Uncle Monty, who lives on Lousy Lane. According to Mr. Poe, Dr. Montgomery is the Baudelaire's "late father's cousin's wife's brother." The children find that they really like Uncle Monty, and when his "assisstant" (count olaf) shows up and murders Uncle Monty. After that the Doctor is in disguise and is Stephano's minion. Then the Doctor and Stephano escape and then its almost the end of the book.

Characters edit see section history

  • Mr. Poe: A banker who has the legal responsibility of the orphans fortune and has the job of selecting who the orphans will live with.
  • Violet Baudelaire: The oldest Baudelaire sibling, fourteen years old. Always makes sure her siblings are safe and sound before she thinks about herself. She has a passion for inventing and whenever she's got a good idea, she can be seen with her hair tied up with a ribbon.
  • Klaus Baudelaire: The middle child Klaus loves to read and will read anything to save his two sisters.
  • Sunny Baudelaire: The youngest Baudelaire, an infant. She has sharp teeth and likes to bite things.
  • Dr. Montgomery Montgomery (aka Uncle Monty): The Baudelaire's distant relative and new guardian, loves reptiles.
  • Gustav Sebold: Dr. Montgomery's former assistant
  • Stephano: Dr. Montgomery's new assistant, who is really Count Olaf in disguise
  • Dr. Lucafont: A doctor called in by Stephano.
  • Bruce: The director of marketing for the Herpetological Society. He's a busy man who doesn't have much time for small talk.
  • Beatrice: A mysterious dead woman to whom this book is dedicated.
Popular Covers

Loading covers…

Choose your book’s cover

Quotes edit see section history

  • “Thank go that didnt work”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.
    Highlighted by 72 Kindle customers
  • “Golly! Good God! Blessed Allah! Zeus and Hera! Mary and Joseph! Nathaniel Hawthorne! Don’t touch her! Grab her! Move closer! Run away! Don’t move! Kill the snake! Leave it alone! Give it some food! Don’t let it bite her! Lure the snake away! Here, snakey! Here, snakey snakey!”
    Highlighted by 59 Kindle customers
  • It is very unnerving to be proven wrong, particularly when you are really right and the person who is really wrong is the one who is proving you wrong and proving himself, wrongly, right. Right?
    Highlighted by 55 Kindle customers
  • The story’s moral, of course, ought to be “Never live somewhere where wolves are running around loose,” but whoever read you the story probably told you that the moral was not to lie. This is an absurd moral, for you and I both know that sometimes not only is it good to lie, it is necessary to lie.
    Highlighted by 48 Kindle customers
  • We all know, of course, that we should never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever,
    Highlighted by 47 Kindle customers
  • “It’s bitten her!” he cried. “It bit her! It bited her! Calm down! Get moving! Call an ambulance! Call the police! Call a scientist! Call my wife! This is terrible! This is awful! This is ghastly! This is phantasmagorical! This is—”
    Highlighted by 44 Kindle customers
  • to never, under any circumstances, let the Virginian Wolfsnake near a typewriter.
    Highlighted by 41 Kindle customers
  • “Dr. Montgomery is—let me see—your late father’s cousin’s wife’s brother.
    Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers
  • hackneyed phrase “meanwhile, back at the ranch.” The word “hackneyed” here means “used by so, so many writers that by the time Lemony Snicket uses it, it is a tiresome cliché.”
    Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers
  • “It’s a loathsome situation in which we find ourselves.”
    Highlighted by 23 Kindle customers
Show all 11 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

The setting mostly takes place at Lousy Lane at Dr. Montgomery's house.
  • Peru: Uncle Monty wants to take the kids to Peru to discover snakes.
  • Baudelaires
  • Lousy Lane: A street that leads to Uncle Monty's house.
  • The Reptile Room: A room in which Uncle Monty keeps his collection of snakes, as well as books and inventing equipment.

Organizations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

The stretch of road that leads out of the city, past Hazy Harbor and into the town of Tedia, is perhaps the most unpleasant in the world.

Table of Contents edit see section history

This book has thirteen untitled chapters.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 2 of 13 in A Series of Unfortunate Events. (standard series)

Preceded by The Bad Beginning, and followed by The Wide Window.

This is book 31 of 216 in Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 (2011). (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Lemony Snicket (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Brett Helquist (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: HarperCollins
Country: United States
Publication Date: 1999
ISBN: 9780749746124
Page Count: 190

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.S6795 Re 1999
  • Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Ages 9 and up. could be for anyone.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events (Books 1 to 13)
  • Mermaids in the Fish-Tank: (and Other Things that Should Fit, but Just... Don't)

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Bad Beginning

We’re hiding the themes, errata, awards, links to supplemental material, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.