TUA!
It will be interesting re-reading this in light of what we know about snicket post-WCTBATH.
It is interesting to note the various different editions of TUA. I have the ‘door’ version, that opens out. Its very nice looking, but the first page has a few creases in it.
The US edition, I believe comes with a fake cover. Images can be found here ;
img35.imageshack.us/img35/6733/snicketponyparty1.jpgAnd here ;
img36.imageshack.us/img36/2988/snicketponyparty2.jpgFor the British version, no such cover is used, however, take a look at this ;
Nope - in fact, I've always been disappointed with British editions of the U.A. as they feature neither that, nor the awesome photograph on the hardcover U.A. I heard that a slightly British-edition-ified version of the TPParty cover was distributed as promo material with the British release of THH, though. I think I've got saved images I found online somewhere. Ah, here we go - found this on eBay:
In case you didn’t know, snicket has tampered with the copyright ; No part of this book may be used, reproduced, destroyed, tampered with, or eaten.......if you recognize yourself in any of the photographs or illustrations in this book you may find yourself in Very Frightening Danger and/or slightly embarrassed, but there is nothing you can do about it. A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from a dark shelf in the British Library. Allegedly printed in Italy, For information contact (address) although this publishing house have no idea where the documents enclosed in this book come from. Please note the author has been called a fraud, a criminal, a bestseller, a corpse, a fictional character, and unreliable narrator, an objective flanuer, an embattled gentleman, a magnetic field, and arsonist, and late for dinner by an odd number of dubious authorities. Please send for help. All rights reserved. Wouldn’t you rather read about ponies?
--Introduction--
Ah, yes! Here we go!
Daniel Handler receives a letter from the publishers who receive Snicket package and read diary extract from the Doorman who receives package and hears story from a female stranger who received papers and heard story from a male stranger who hears speech from the older gentleman not of the stranger’s acquaintance who received package from:
Aunt who may or may not be Julie Blattberg.
Between Chapters Twelve and Thirteen, one of the narrators concludes their story and passes the Snicket package, Chapter Thirteen, onto a previous narrator. Which narrators we’re dealing with could be any, although it’s unlikely to be Handler or the publishers as they were reading rather than listening to the story.
I know its only for comedic effect, but how long could the answer to ‘will you please get out of my way?’ possibly be? Fanfic, anyone?
Ah, my old friends at the Dairy…
The Doorman’s narration style is hilarious, especially ‘as old as someone who attened nursery school many years ago’
;Any Duchesses who might happen to be in disguise’ - Is this the Duchess of Winnipeg? Or - wait for it - is the female stranger the duchess!!!!
Cryptic, which here means enigmatic, which later means mysterious, before also meaning arcane, later abstruse, which becomes cryptic again.
All of the original questions/chapter titles ARE answered (whether partially or fully) in some way in each specific chapter, despite being crossed out
The Baudelaire File - Could this be what we now as the Snicket file? We know it was written by the snicket’s (TPP, I think), so could they have made it about the Baudelaires |(with evidence that Olaf burned the mansion being what all the fuss was about?) This seems quite plausible to me.
Another option is that TUA Is the Snicket file, with Pages referring to chapters?
Edit ; --Chapter One ; Why was Mister Snicket; death published in The newspaper? / Who took this? --
Hang on? I totally forgot this - VFD Was public? This doesn’t seem right.
(Actually, The Quagmires found information about Olaf and VFD, so it must have been reported at some point. However, thinking about this a bit more, at some point VFD must have been more publicly known (heck, it is a volunteer fire department fro gods sake!) but what caused it go into ‘hiding‘. The schism? I could see that working… )
The terrible reporter is Geraldine julienne
Why is lemony waiting for the Prospero? Its probably nothing special, but Its all very mysterious
Ah, the little Snicket lad! That classic folk song, suing by Beatrice to her daughter violet (According to TSS)! And I will just point out for reference the ‘tune of naval disaster’ is supposedly row, row, row your boat, although I don’t see this working.
Valorous Farms Dairy - VFD Perhaps? Probably not…
Drat - who wrote this? One of the narrators? Olaf? The Sinister Duo? Issac? No, wait.
So, as the doorman uses ‘Dear Dairy’ instead of ‘dear diary’ can we assume the doorman is Snicket in disguise? And the entire ludicrous story (as the VFD gentleman said) was just a ruse so people wouldn’t work out it ws him. And so i take this to mean the UA Is real, and all the first twelve chapters have been sent to the dairy!
‘someone else was watching o’er the little Snicket lad’ Very creepy, but also fitting, for an origination with an eye as its emblem to be ‘watching’ over young children.
‘The Mill’ - Lucky smells?
Jacques gets more characterization in this book than TVV, even though he doesn’t ‘appear’. Also, this is the first indication that there is a third Snicket sibling ? But I don’t think there is any reference to it being a her, rather than a him…
Although you wont be paid - As they are of course, volunteers, one wonders how many of the volunteers are relatively wealthy. Maybe VFD only take rich children because they wont be paid?
