The Austere Academy facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler) |
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| Illustrator | Brett Helquist |
| Cover artist | Brett Helquist |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Genre | Gothic fiction Absurdist fiction Mystery |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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August 31, 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 225 |
| ISBN | 0-06-440863-9 (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 book in the popular children's series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. In this story, the three Baudelaire orphans are sent to a very strict boarding school. There, they face mean staff members, make new friends, and once again encounter their enemy, Count Olaf, who is in disguise.
The book was first released in the United States in 2000. It came out in the United Kingdom in 2001.
Contents
The Baudelaires Start School
The story begins with the Baudelaire orphans and Mr. Poe arriving at Prufrock Preparatory School. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire quickly meet Carmelita Spats. She is a very rude girl who calls the orphans "cakesniffers." Mr. Poe tells the children to go to Vice Principal Nero's office. On their way, they see the school's motto: Memento Mori. This is Latin for "Remember You Will Die."
Rules and the Orphans' Shack
Vice Principal Nero explains the school's rules. He promises that his special computer system will keep Count Olaf away. However, because they don't have parental permission, the children must live in the "Orphans' Shack." He also says that Sunny is too young for school. So, she will have to work as his assistant.
Prufrock Prep has strange punishments. For example, if a student enters the main office without an appointment, they lose their silverware. This means Sunny will have no silverware. She has to come to the office every day without an appointment.
The Baudelaire orphans go to their shack. It is full of crabs, has terrible wallpaper, and fungus drips from the ceiling.
New Friends and a Familiar Face
At lunch, Carmelita Spats makes fun of the orphans again. But then, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire invite the Baudelaires to sit with them. The Quagmires are triplets, just like the Baudelaires. Their brother, Quigley Quagmire, died in a fire with their parents. They also inherited a huge fortune, theirs in sapphires. Duncan wants to be a journalist. Isadora is a poet who writes couplets. Both of them carry notebooks to write down their observations.
Violet's teacher, Mr. Remora, tells short, boring stories while eating bananas. The students must take notes. Klaus's teacher, Mrs. Bass, loves the metric system. She makes her students measure many dull objects. Later, the orphans meet Coach Genghis. They recognize him as Count Olaf in disguise. But they pretend to be fooled.
Nero's Concerts and Secret Plans
Every evening, students must attend Vice Principal Nero's concert. He plays the violin very badly for six hours. During one concert, the Baudelaire orphans decide to visit Nero's office the next day. They plan to drop hints about Coach Genghis. But Genghis is already in the office, ruining their plan.
Count Olaf's Evil Plan
At lunch, Carmelita Spats delivers a message. The Baudelaire orphans must meet Coach Genghis on the front lawn at sundown. This is the same time as Nero's violin concert. Genghis makes them paint a circle. Then, he makes them run "Special Orphan Running Exercises" (S.O.R.E.) laps around the circle every night for nine days.
Violet and Klaus start failing their tests because they are so tired. Sunny's work also suffers because she runs out of staples.
Punishments and a Clever Switch
Vice Principal Nero tells the children that if they keep failing, Coach Genghis will tutor them. He also says Sunny will be fired. He announces that they will have extra-hard exams the next morning. He also demands nine bags of candy from each of them. He mistakenly counts this as 29 bags instead of 27. This is their punishment for missing his concerts. He also demands earrings for Carmelita Spats for every message she delivered.
The Baudelaires go to the Quagmires and explain what happened. The Quagmires come up with a plan. They disguise themselves as Klaus and Violet. They use a sack of flour to pretend to be Sunny. They do the running exercises so the Baudelaires can study and make staples. The Quagmires leave their notebooks with Violet and Klaus. Violet invents a staple-making device. She uses a small crab, a potato, metal rods, creamed spinach, and a fork. She makes staples while Klaus reads the notebooks aloud.
The Truth Revealed
The next morning, Vice Principal Nero, Mr. Remora, and Mrs. Bass come to the Orphans' Shack. They test Violet and Klaus. They give Sunny a stack of papers to staple. All three of them pass their tests perfectly.
Coach Genghis arrives. He found out that Sunny was a sack of flour when he tried to kick her. Genghis then uncovers the Quagmires' disguises. He gives them canteen duty. The orphans can't stand it anymore. They try to reveal that Coach Genghis is Count Olaf. Just then, Mr. Poe arrives with the candy and earrings. Vice Principal Nero tells him that the orphans were caught "cheating." He announces that the Baudelaire orphans will be expelled. Mrs. Bass and Mr. Remora try to defend them, but it's no use.
The Baudelaire orphans tell Mr. Poe that Coach Genghis is Count Olaf. Coach Genghis runs out of the shack. The orphans manage to remove his disguise. He then succeeds in kidnapping the Quagmires. The two lunch ladies remove their metal masks. They reveal themselves as Count Olaf's assistants, the white-faced women. The orphans see Olaf's assistants pushing the Quagmires into an old car. Before they close the door, Duncan yells to the Baudelaire orphans, "Look in the notebooks! V.F.D.!" But Olaf steals the notebooks before he and his helpers drive away.
Audio Book
An audio book version of this novel was released. It was the last audio book in the series read by the author, Daniel Handler, who uses the name Lemony Snicket. All the books after this one are read by Tim Curry.
Adaptations
The beginning of this novel was partly shown at the end of the first season of the television series by Netflix. The rest of the story was used for the first and second episodes of the second season.
In Spanish: Una academia muy austera para niños
