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[[File:=File:Lemonysnickettheend.jpg|frameless|upright=1]] | |
Author | Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler |
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Illustrator | Brett Helquist |
Cover artist | Brett Helquist |
Language | English |
Series | A Series of Unfortunate Events |
Genre | Novel |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | October 13, 2006 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
ISBN | ISBN Parameter error in ((ISBNT)): invalid character |
Preceded by | The End |
Chapter Fourteen is an extra chapter found at the end of The End, the final book of the series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Daniel Handler, under the name Lemony Snicket. Its full title is A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the Last: Chapter Fourteen.
A note on page 329 of The End reads, "To My Kind Editor: The end of THE END can be found at the end of THE END. With all due respect, (signature) Lemony Snicket". After some blank pages, this is followed by authentic-looking pre-title, bibliography, title, copyright and dedication pages, all designed to give the impression that Chapter Fourteen is a separate small book in its own right. It has only one chapter, also called "Chapter Fourteen", which begins the page numbering again at 1 and, perhaps significantly, ends on page 13.
Template:Spoiler The chapter begins with an excerpt from the diary/history of the island, A Series of Unfortunate Events, in which the Baudelaire orphans's parents describe what it was like to leave the island when they were exiled by Ishmael.
One year after the closing of The End, the Baudelaire orphans and baby Beatrice (Kit Snicket's daughter) decide to journey back to civilization, but leave A Series of Unfortunate Events on the island so that any other person who washes up on the island may continue the island's history (it is possible that this is how Lemony Snicket found out about their story). On the way to the boat, Kit's child reads the name of the boat and, consequently her own name. The word she reads is Beatrice; revealing the name of the Baudelaire's mother to be the same.
Lemony Snicket says that he does not know what happens to them. Suggested evidence concludes that at least Beatrice, Sunny, and Klaus survived due to references in The Beatrice Letters. Sunny is known to become a well known cook. Violet at least made it back to Briny Beach one last time. Beyond that, there is no information on what happens to her. All we know about Klaus is that years later, he still wished he had pushed Olaf back into his taxi during the events of The Reptile Room
At the end of the book, there is an author and illustrator page, as usual, which depicts a lonely sea with the murky shadow of a question mark in the water. But however, on Lemony Snicket's caption, it reads as follows:
Lemony Snicket is still at large! Find him on the web at www.lemonysnicket.com.
If you look closely at the Unauthorized page, you will see a poem.
Ô mort, vieux capitaine, il est temps! Levons l'ancre!
Ce pays nous ennuie, Ô mort! Appareillons!
Si le ciel et la mer sont noirs comme de l'encre.
Nos cœurs que tu connais sont remplis de rayons!
This is the first verse of the eighth and final part of Charles Baudelaire's poem, "Le Voyage," from Les Fleurs Du Mal. It is translated by William Aggeler as follows:
O Death, old captain, it is time! let's weigh anchor!
This country wearies us, O Death! Let us set sail!
Though the sea and the sky are black as ink,
Our hearts which you know well are filled with rays of light![1]
It is possible that this may relate to Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid.
The last book does not, however, reveal what is in the sugar bowl or the current location of the sugar bowl. It is possible that the sugar bowl, like all things, washed up on the coastal shelf. It is thus a MacGuffin, in that it a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story, but has little other relevance, and its true nature is never revealed.
A Series of Unfortunate Events |
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All the Wrong Questions | |||||||||
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