The Miserable Mill facts for kids
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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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April 15, 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 195 |
| ISBN | 0-06-440769-1 |
| Preceded by | The Wide Window |
| Followed by | The Austere Academy |
The Miserable Mill is the fourth book in the popular A Series of Unfortunate Events for children. Written by Lemony Snicket, it tells the story of the Baudelaire orphans. In this adventure, the children find themselves living at a lumber mill. The book was first released on April 15, 2000, by HarperCollins. Brett Helquist created the illustrations for the story.
Contents
What Happens in The Miserable Mill?
This section explains the main events of the book. It follows the Baudelaire orphans as they face new challenges.
The Baudelaires Arrive at Lucky Smells Lumbermill
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire travel by train to a place called Paltryville. This is where their new home, the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, is located. When they get there, they learn they must work at the mill. Their new guardian, known only as Sir, promises to keep their enemy, Count Olaf, away.
The children meet Sir's kind partner, Charles. He shows them the mill's small library. It has three books. One book is about the lumbermill's history. Another is about the town's rules. The third book was given by Dr. Georgina Orwell, the local eye doctor. Her office is shaped like an eye, which reminds them of a tattoo on Count Olaf's ankle.
Klaus's Strange Behavior and Dr. Orwell
One day, the new foreman, Flacutono, trips Klaus on purpose. Klaus's glasses break. He is sent to see Dr. Orwell. When Klaus returns hours later, he acts very strangely. He seems to be in a trance.
The next day, Flacutono tells Klaus to use a stamping machine. Klaus causes an accident, dropping the machine on Phil, a friendly coworker. Flacutono shouts that the machine cost "an inordinate amount of money." The other workers ask what "inordinate" means. Klaus, still acting odd, defines the word. He says he doesn't remember anything after breaking his glasses until he woke up at the mill. Foreman Flacutono trips him again, breaking his glasses once more. This time, Violet and Sunny go with Klaus to Dr. Orwell's office.
Discovering Count Olaf's Plan
At Dr. Orwell's eye-shaped building, Dr. Orwell seems friendly. She lets them in and tells Violet and Sunny to wait. Violet and Sunny soon realize that Count Olaf is there. He is disguised as Shirley, a receptionist. They also figure out that Dr. Orwell is working with Olaf. She has been hypnotizing Klaus.
They leave with Klaus, who is still in a trance. He even calls Violet "Veronica." Back at the lumbermill, they find a note from Sir. It says that if another accident happens, the children will be put in Shirley's care.
The Baudelaires Fight Back
Violet and Sunny put Klaus to bed. Then they go to the mill's library. Violet reads the book Dr. Orwell donated. It's hard to understand because of the difficult words. But she learns that Orwell uses a special command word to control people. There is also an "unhypnotize" word.
Suddenly, they hear the lumbermill starting early. They rush to see what is happening. They find Charles tied to a log. Klaus is pushing the log towards a buzz saw. Foreman Flacutono is giving orders. The girls notice Klaus's bare feet, which means he was hypnotized out of bed again. Shirley and Orwell arrive. Dr. Orwell tells Klaus to ignore his sisters. Just in time, Violet remembers the release word: "inordinate."
Violet gets caught by Shirley and Flacutono. But Klaus manages to free Charles. Sunny and Dr. Orwell fight. Orwell uses a sword, and Sunny uses her teeth. Mr. Poe and Sir unexpectedly walk in. Dr. Orwell steps back in surprise, right into the path of the buzz saw, and dies.
Count Olaf Escapes
Count Olaf is locked in the library. But he escapes through a window with Foreman Flacutono. It turns out Flacutono was the bald man with the long nose, one of Olaf's helpers, in disguise. Sir then gives up on taking care of the Baudelaires. This means the children are once again without a guardian.
What Happens Next?
The last picture in The Miserable Mill gives a hint about the next book. It shows two students, a boy and a girl, getting ready to get on a school bus. This refers to Duncan and Isadora Quagmire. It also hints at the events of the next book, The Austere Academy, which is the fifth book in the series.
Other Languages
The Miserable Mill has been translated into many different languages around the world. Here are some of its titles:
- Portuguese: Serraria Baixo-Astral (Low Spirits Lumbermill)
- Finnish: Saiturin saha (The Miser's Mill)
- Greek: Το Εργοστάσιο της Συμφοράς (The Factory of Disaster)
- Indonesian: Gelondongan Gila (Crazy Log)
- Norwegian: Den mystiske mølla (The Mysterious Mill)
- Russian: Зловещая лесопилка (Sinister Sawmill)
- Spanish: El Aserradero Lúgubre (The Lugubrious Mill)
- Swedish: Det Sällsamma Sågverket (The Strange Sawmill)
- Turkish: Bitik Orman (Worn-out Forest)
- Dutch: De Helse Houtzagerij (The Hellish Sawmill)
- Polish: Tartak tortur (The Torture Lumber Mill)
TV Show Version
This book was made into the seventh and eighth episodes of the first season of the TV show on Netflix. The TV episodes are mostly like the book. However, some scenes and characters were changed. For example, in the TV show, "Flacutono" is the Hook-Handed Man, not the Bald Man as in the book. Also, the sword fight between Dr. Orwell and Sunny is removed. In the show, Dr. Orwell dies by falling into a furnace instead of being cut by the buzz saw. There are also big differences with the mill and the town. The town was not burned down in the book, and the other workers were not hypnotized.
See also
In Spanish: El aserradero lúgubre para niños
