A Series of Unfortunate Events

by Daniel Handler

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Setting


Setting is very important in "A Series of Unfortunate Events," almost the other major character, especially given the mock gothic quality of the stories. Like Count Olaf, the setting in each book is antagonistic to the poor Baudelaires. For example, Prufrock Preparatory School, the setting of Book Five The Austere Academy, is a dark, depressing boarding school with buildings shaped like gravestones, a brown lawn, a school motto of "Momento Mori" ("Remember you will die"), and a shack for the children's dormitory. The shack is really bad, moreover, with only hay bales for...

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