The Lemony Site - Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography

Lemony Snicket:
The Unauthorized Autobiography

Lemony Snicket

(UA) "...possibly coded quotations in critical articles, reviews, and subpeonas."

"...the author has been called
"a fraud,
"a criminal,
"a bestseller, [see Publisher's Weekly]
"a corpse, [see UA.back cover]
"a fictional character, [Mr. Snicket has stated that his stories are as real as he is.]
"an unreliable narrator, [(UA.11-12) Re: innaccuracy: "I suspect the name 'Robber Road' was chosen to emphasize the thieving nature of the chorus." (UA.19) Re: never vs. rarely: "although that would scarcely be as dramatic." Perhaps Mr. Snicket is defending the artistic liberties taken in his work, particularly The Unauthorized Autobiography, which seems to have many chronological inconsistencies.]
"an objective flaneur, [He certainly dresses the part.]
"an embattled gentleman,
"a magnetic field, [see The Magnetic Fields]
"an arsonist, [Mr. Snicket has been confused with Count Olaf.]
"and late for dinner..." [see 2.27]

(UA.xvii) Mr. Snicket rarely attends parties.

(UA.3) age: "tall, with brown eyes"
"Snicket had a promising scholarly career, beginning with a job as a theatrical critic -- in all senses of the word -- for this very newspaper [The Daily Punctillio], followed by the publication of several promising anthropomorphic treatises . . . This period of professional contentment -- and, allegedly, unrequited love -- ended when news broke of his involvement with VFD, and the accompanying scandal was reported in these very pages.
"Mr. Snicket became a fugitive from justice and was rarely seen in public . . . "

(UA.5) worked there [The Daily Punctillio] as an undercover assignment

(UA.5-7) He took a trip on the Prospero from a fogged-in harbor.

(UA.11) He was born at Valorous Farms Dairy; "also became friends with the cheesemakers who lived on the premises. These cheesemakers, . . . remain very close associates of my [Lemony Snicket's] entire family."
Often has to deliver secret information

(UA.13) . . . carried out of the kitchen by my [Lemony Snicket's] ankles, as is the custom . . . and the windows of the car were tinted . . .

(UA.16) He was a toddler when taken by VFD.

(UA.17) VFD came in through the windows, and took 'em away in a long black car.

(UA.18) On the day when the three Snicket siblings were taken by VFD, their mother was investigating who had taken the picture on pages 1 and 4.

(UA.19) VFD rarely (not never) brought the siblings back to their family home. Lemony and his siblings became members of VFD.

(UA.26) Lemony kept disguises, a typewriter, and bright blue accordion (his third favorite) at the home of the Duchess of Winnipeg.

(UA.55) This letter was not written at a desk, as was the norm.

(UA.57) This letter was written when Lemony was scheduled to meet with Dr. Sebald in a rowboat on Swarthy Swamp.

(UA.58) Whomever the letter from Lemony (pages 55-56) was addressed to was Mr. Snicket's second-to-last hope that the tales of the Baudelaire orphans could finally be told to the general public, HarperCollins being his last hope to do so.

(UA.58-60) Lemony describes himself as:
Baudelaire biographer; a coward and a gentleman; the man behind the hedges; the man behind the story behind the orphans; a man who has never burned anything down; a man accused of burning something(s) down; a man who suspects others of having burned things down; a man who wishes things had turned out differently; a man who needs your help, please; a good man in bad trouble, not vice versa.
The story of Lemony's life also concerns:
the organization behind a great deal of trouble; deception; orphans; arson; a woman and an organization; a woman and another man; three initials, all of which are secret and consonants; three siblings, at least one of whom is dead [I propose that these siblings are the Snickets, and not the Quagmires.].

(UA.55-65) To whom was this letter, from Lemony, addressed? Indirect evidence suggests that the letter was addressed to Sally Sebald, sister of Dr. Gustav Sebald: the letter focuses on Dr. Sebald; the next letter in UA is from Sally to Lemony.

(UA.77) Lemony used to work at The Daily Puctillio as a dramatic critic, writing a section titled "A Night at the Theatre." He did so for over a year before being fired for giving Count Olaf a negative review.

(UA.77, UA.81) Note the differences between the logos used on these different dates.

(UA.79) Lemony was engaged to the original lead actress of "The World is Quiet Here" at the time of his review.

(UA.96) He communicated with VFD through his articles in The Daily Punctillio. His cover was blown in his final review, after which he had to go into hiding (presumably from Olaf).

(UA.159) Lemony used a green notebook to keep track of some of the most crucial secrets in this sad and flammable world.

(UA.177) He "was whisked away from his family in order to join a noble organization. Or so I [Lemony] thought. . . . after a confusing if exciting childhood, I [Lemony] met a woman, fell in love, and was never happy again."
Does this mean that Lemony did not meet Beatrice in his VFD training?

(UA.203) Re: Beatrice's death?

The Unauthorized Autobiography

Lemony Snicket:The Unauthorized Autobiography Lemony Snicket

Lemony Snicket:
The Unauthorized Autobiography

Lemony Snicket