SPOILERS! 13 Shocking Secrets...

[SadOccasion]

Now that TBL and TE areo ut, lets look at what we can make of the 13 Shocking Secrets...

Shocking Secret #1: Lemony Snicket is not who you think he is.
Well, hmm... If this means Lemony is another character from the books, then I'm drawing a blank, but it probabaly just means that there is more behind Lemony's books than just a story of unlucky children, and also may refer to his constant disguises.

Shocking Secret #2: Lemony Snicket is one of three siblings.
Jacques and Kit are his siblings, as confirmed in UA and TbL and which should have probably been common sense after TVV and TGG anyway...

Shocking Secret #3: Lemony Snicket’s niece is an orphan.
Thisi s the only one that is really related to TE - Lemony's niece is Beatrice #2, and Kit died at the end of TE.

Shocking Secret #4: Lemony Snicket is wanted for arson.
This was hinted at in UA. Lemony was probably framed by the ignoble side of the schism. possibly Olaf. OR maybe Lemony isn't as noble as he appears, although this is doubtful as the series is over and nothing else seemed to point i nthsi drection. Anyway, this provides a god explenation for his staged death and the constant secrecy of his research.

Shocking Secret #5: Lemony Snicket grew up with a terrible villain.
Hmm... perhaps his parents were one of the conspirators who started the schism, perhaps Jacques was not as noble ash e appeared (although he introudced himself as a volunteer in TVV, which is a term I'm pretty sure is only used by the noble members), OR perhaps he grew up in the same vicinity as Olaf, and Olaf and Kit had a relationship (also hinted at in TE).

Shocking Secret #6: Lemony Snicket attended boarding school.
V.F.D. training, as most of the adults in the series. Possibly the Mortmain Mountaisn headquarters or some unnamed V.F.D. safe place.

Shocking Secret #7: When he was a baby, Lemony Snicket was kidnapped by a secret organization.
This was pretty much confirmed by the first few pages of UA.

Shocking Secret #8: Lemony Snicket was fired from The Daily Punctilio.
This was hinted at in both UA and TBL. He was probabaly fired for favoritism towards Beatrice's performance rather than Esme's. Or perhaps he gave Mr. Poe ( known by his stage name) a bad review, which didn't sit well with his relative, Eleanora? All guesswork, of course.

Shocking Secret #9: Lemony Snicket helped Beatrice commit a serious crime before her death.
Possibly murdering Olaf's parents or stealing Esme's sugar bowl.

Shocking Secret #10: Lemony Snicket was disguised as a bullfighter when he was captured.
This seems to be jus ta little bit of randomness - do we even KNOW of a time when Lemony was "captured"?

Shocking Secret #11: Lemony Snicket’s work is filled with secret messages meant for his associates.
Well, besides the Sebald Code in TPP, which seemed to be a message from Frank/Ernest rather than the writer himself, I don't see any evidence of this, but I think this is just to reinforce that Lemony is a mamber of V.F.D. and is beign assisted by "associates" who are also volunteers.

Shocking Secret #12: Lemony Snicket has a tattoo of an eye on his ankle.
All members of V.F.D. before the schism occured did (inlcuding Ishmael, itnerestingly enough...)

Shocking Secret #13: He is finished.
The End IS, indeed, The End.

[Dante]

No spoiler threads outside The End until the 20th, I'm afraid.

As regards #4: Lemony mentions in TSS, in his letter to Kit, that he is suspected of setting a number of fires that were actually started by Olaf.

As regards #10: We know of Lemony's capture from the U.A., in which (the (apparent) impostor) R. mentioned Snicket's capture at her masked ball in her letter to him. This presumably continues the story first started in TAA, where Lemony talks of attending one of the Duchess of Winnipeg (R.)'s famous masked balls costumed as a matador., trying to get a message to Beatrice, and how he was pursued by the guards while he was present.

[callumbarker]

There is a secret message in TPP?

[Dante]

callumbarker said:

There is a secret message in TPP?

Aye. Sebald Code on page 67: "Are you in or enemies please respond." Thought to have been intended as "associates" rather than "in," as the two are very close together and could easily be confused with an editing mistake (the same happens in the U.A., there's one instance where Sebald Code doesn't work when it should, possibly because "sugar bowls" was meant to have been put as one word rather than two).

[superorange]

There's also a wrong word underlined in TBL for Sebald Code, though the codes the same either way.

[beatriceblake]

Aye. Sebald Code on page 67: "Are you in or enemies please respond."

I always wondered if that message was meant to indicate that Ernest was speaking as Esme used the word "in" and the villainous Ernest could have been using one of her expressions. Or I'm really overthinking a typo.

Shocking Secret #11: Lemony Snicket’s work is filled with secret messages meant for his associates.

There is also the letter to Kit hidden in TSS (I think it is chapter eight).

[callumbarker]

If there are codes in these books, then I'm sure that there are codes in others. In the end, possibly, when they are given the ring?

[SadOccasion]

Ooh! I never thought of a Sebald Code in that section, although now that I think of it, it does make sense.

[smileyman457]

sadoccasion said:

Shocking Secret #10: Lemony Snicket was disguised as a bullfighter when he was captured.
This seems to be jus ta little bit of randomness - do we even KNOW of a time when Lemony was "captured"?

It is talked about in TUA. He talks about it in a letter to the 'Dairy', if I remember correctly.