Post by Hermes on Feb 5, 2012 14:13:20 GMT -5
This is a spin-off of freebird's thread on timelines. I don't have precise dates for the birth of most characters, but I thought it might be interesting to explain how I see their ages.
The central group. The Snickets, the Denouements, Olaf, Beatrice and R are all in the same broad age-band, born in the years just before the schism. We know that the schism took place on the eve of the Denouements' fifth birthday, and that Kit was also four at the time; and the other three were all at school with Lemony. Olaf comes across as older, but must be prematurely aged by a life of villainy.
Esme is probably also close in age to this group, but a bit younger. She took part in One Last Warning to Those who Stand in my Way, and had presumably left school by then, so was at least eighteen; and Lemony and Beatrice had probably only been out of school for a few years then, if we are going to fit in all the events of the saga comfortably. On the other hand if Olaf was her acting teacher she was probably a bit younger than him.
Also likely to be in this age-group are Jerome (who was on the mountain-climbing expedition with Beatrice and Lemony) and Olivia, who I think was volunteering at the Daily Punctilio at the same time as Lemony and R. Also, very probably, Bertrand, the Quagmire parents, etc.
Definitely older.
(Apart from the obviously old characters like Hal and Ishmael.)
Monty - has been studying snakes for forty years.
Josephine - has white hair, and is described as a old woman.
Justice Strauss - was a horse-thief for some years when she was Esme's age.
Also older in my ficverse -
Captain Widdershins - just comes over that way.
Nero - was already vice-principal twenty years or so ago, when Charles and Sir were at Prufrock Prep (though I'm vague about exactly when).
Mr Poe - is just a bit older, perhaps eight when the main group were 2-5. He was recruited to VFD as a child, but his parents pulled him out after the schism.
Definitely younger.
Fernald - just to fit in with his being Fiona's brother - he must be at least twelve years older than her, but I don't want him to be much more.
Of course, there is the complication of Esme saying she was a friend of F's mother at school. It's very hard to make this work. It may be that E is lying. If you want it to be true, I think you have to have both a generation-spanning friendship - say, fifteen and ten - and a teenage pregnancy. Ther's an intersting fanfic waitng to be written there.
Daniel Handler - partly for real life reasons (because he was only twenty-eight when the books staarted appearing, while Lemony must have been at least in his mid-thirties). and partly because he seems to have been recruited as a boy by Jacques.
Also younger in my ficverse.
Hector - I have him born after the schism, when the connection between VFD and VFD had been broken, to explain his not knowing about the secret organination despite having old family links with it.
Uncertain.
Charles and Sir - I have them living in the orphans' shack together as boys, so they must be quite close in age. - and they were already together when Lemony wrote the 'I love you' letter to Beatrice. But that's compatible with their being either older or a bit younger. In 'From Esme with Love and Squalor' Charles is Esme's younger brother, but I'm not sure I should follow that.
The central group. The Snickets, the Denouements, Olaf, Beatrice and R are all in the same broad age-band, born in the years just before the schism. We know that the schism took place on the eve of the Denouements' fifth birthday, and that Kit was also four at the time; and the other three were all at school with Lemony. Olaf comes across as older, but must be prematurely aged by a life of villainy.
Esme is probably also close in age to this group, but a bit younger. She took part in One Last Warning to Those who Stand in my Way, and had presumably left school by then, so was at least eighteen; and Lemony and Beatrice had probably only been out of school for a few years then, if we are going to fit in all the events of the saga comfortably. On the other hand if Olaf was her acting teacher she was probably a bit younger than him.
Also likely to be in this age-group are Jerome (who was on the mountain-climbing expedition with Beatrice and Lemony) and Olivia, who I think was volunteering at the Daily Punctilio at the same time as Lemony and R. Also, very probably, Bertrand, the Quagmire parents, etc.
Definitely older.
(Apart from the obviously old characters like Hal and Ishmael.)
Monty - has been studying snakes for forty years.
Josephine - has white hair, and is described as a old woman.
Justice Strauss - was a horse-thief for some years when she was Esme's age.
Also older in my ficverse -
Captain Widdershins - just comes over that way.
Nero - was already vice-principal twenty years or so ago, when Charles and Sir were at Prufrock Prep (though I'm vague about exactly when).
Mr Poe - is just a bit older, perhaps eight when the main group were 2-5. He was recruited to VFD as a child, but his parents pulled him out after the schism.
Definitely younger.
Fernald - just to fit in with his being Fiona's brother - he must be at least twelve years older than her, but I don't want him to be much more.
Of course, there is the complication of Esme saying she was a friend of F's mother at school. It's very hard to make this work. It may be that E is lying. If you want it to be true, I think you have to have both a generation-spanning friendship - say, fifteen and ten - and a teenage pregnancy. Ther's an intersting fanfic waitng to be written there.
Daniel Handler - partly for real life reasons (because he was only twenty-eight when the books staarted appearing, while Lemony must have been at least in his mid-thirties). and partly because he seems to have been recruited as a boy by Jacques.
Also younger in my ficverse.
Hector - I have him born after the schism, when the connection between VFD and VFD had been broken, to explain his not knowing about the secret organination despite having old family links with it.
Uncertain.
Charles and Sir - I have them living in the orphans' shack together as boys, so they must be quite close in age. - and they were already together when Lemony wrote the 'I love you' letter to Beatrice. But that's compatible with their being either older or a bit younger. In 'From Esme with Love and Squalor' Charles is Esme's younger brother, but I'm not sure I should follow that.
Mine is just a jumble of stuff in a corner of my mind. 
;D
