The Vile Village
| Author | Lemony Snicket |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Brett Helquist |
| Cover artist | Brett Helquist |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Genre | Gothic fiction Absurdist fiction Mystery |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | May 2001 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-440865-3 |
| Preceded by | The Ersatz Elevator |
| Followed by | The Hostile Hospital |
Book the Seventh: The Vile Village is the seventh novel in the children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
In The Vile Village, the Baudelaire orphans are taken into the care of a whole village, only to find many rules and chores, evil seniors, as well as Count Olaf and his evil girlfriend lurking nearby.
This book marks a turning point in the structure of the series and effectively marks the halfway mark between books one to six and eight to thirteen. It breaks with the following major patterns of the earlier books in the series:
- The Baudelaires can no longer call on Mr. Poe for assistance, although he was barely any help to begin with.
- The Baudelaires themselves are deemed "criminals", and they are not assigned any more legal guardians after this point.
- Because the authorities turn their attention away from him, Count Olaf is no longer obliged to use disguises.