Paltryville

Paltryville
Location Information
Location	Finite Forest
Residents	Charles (†?) Georgina Orwell † Phil (formerly) Sir (†?)
Owned By	Mayor
Type	Town
Behind the Scenes
Appearances	The Miserable Mill Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography The Slippery Slope (mentioned)
Adaptation Appearances	Netflix Adaptation: The Miserable Mill: Part One, The Miserable Mill: Part Two

“	In short, everything that might make a town interesting or pleasant had been made boring or unpleasant, and if Paltryville had been listed in a guidebook the only helpful hint about what to do when you got there would be: "Leave."	”
	— Lemony Snicket, The Miserable Mill

Paltryville is a small, desolate rural town that served as the setting of The Miserable Mill. It holds a reputation of having Lucky Smells Lumbermill headquartered within its city proper, but other than that tidbit, there isn't much activity that one would find enjoyable.

Description

Paltryville rests on the edge of the Finite Forest. It is not listed in any guidebook, due to its small and seemingly near-abandoned nature.

On the one street, there are a few small shops, none of which have any windows. Outside the post office is an old shoe dangling from the top of a flagpole, and across from the post office is the high wooden wall that borders Lucky Smells Lumbermill, with a sign made out of chewed gum. At the end of the street is Dr. Orwell's Optometrist Office.

Alongside the sidewalk were the archives of The Daily Punctilio before their destruction. There used to be a Lucky Smells Melon Farm, which is now gone. Paltryville, as a whole, is quite boring and unpleasant.

While there don't seem to be many people living there, there is a noted population: there is a mayor, and illustrations depict children and a school bus.

Locations

• Ahab Memorial Hospital
• Dr. Orwell's Optometrist Office
• Lucky Smells Lumbermill
• Lucky Smells Melon Farm †
• Paltryville Station
• Post Office
• Sam's Haircutting Place
• Water Park (planning to get built)

Netflix Series Divergent Canon

You started VFD? The following article or section concerns information that is considered canonical to the Netflix series, but it is unknown as to where it stands in the books' canon. It may also contain information contradictory to the books. Be very cautious when using this information as a source, or you may end up reporting for The Daily Punctilio, or on the lam. Whichever you consider worse.

In the Netflix adaptation, the town of Paltryville is depicted as being burned down in its entirety with only the Lucky Smells Lumbermill and Dr. Orwell's Office still standing by the time the Baudelaire orphans arrive in the town. As seen in an old V.F.D. photograph, before the fire, the town flourished and had many businesses and restaurants, with the name "Paltryville" being a misnomer.

However, a fire eventually started; while the reason is unknown, The History of Lucky Smells Lumbermill implies Roy Hardwood was the culprit, while The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations implies it was Georgina Orwell. Nevertheless, upon seeing the fire from their picnic spot in the Finite Forest, Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire arrived on the scene; Bertrand repurposed a large cowbell, hammer and ten-foot pole to make a fire alarm to warn the townsfolk, while Beatrice redistributed the Lucky Smells water circulation system to put out the blaze. After the fire, the two relocated the survivors, setting them up with good jobs in The City.

Following the fire, the town was near-destroyed and abandoned, with Dr. Orwell hypnotizing the remaining citizens to work for coupons at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, in exchange for Sir claiming that the Baudelaire parents started the fire. Following the unhypnotism and death of Orwell, the lumbermill was put under the control of Charles.

Residents

Note: This includes information that is from both the books (canon) and the 2017-2019 Netflix Adaptation (which has its own canon). They will be referenced accordingly.

• Klaus Baudelaire (formerly)
• Sunny Baudelaire (formerly)
• Violet Baudelaire (formerly)
• Cesar
• Charles (†?)
• Foreman Firstein †
• Jimmy
• Mayor
• Norma Rae
• Quigley Quagmire (temporarily)
• Sir (†?)
• Jacques Snicket (temporarily)
• Georgina Orwell †
• Phil (formerly)

Trivia

• "Paltry," as a noun, is used to describe "refuse, rubbish; a worthless person or thing." As an adjective, it means "petty, trivial, insignificant; worthless, rubbishy; contemptible" or "despicable, base, weak, unimportant, not worthy of consideration."

Appearances

Books
A Series of Unfortunate Events (Books)
1. The Bad Beginning (1999):	Absent	7. The Vile Village (2001):	Mentioned
2. The Reptile Room (1999):	Absent	8. The Hostile Hospital (2001):	Absent
3. The Wide Window (2000):	Absent	9. The Carnivorous Carnival (2002):	Absent
4. The Miserable Mill (2000):	Debut	10. The Slippery Slope (2003):	Absent
5. The Austere Academy (2000):	Absent	11. The Grim Grotto (2004):	Absent
6. The Ersatz Elevator (2001):	Absent	12. The Penultimate Peril (2005):	Absent
13. The End (2006):		Absent
All the Wrong Questions
Who Could That Be at This Hour? (2012):	Absent	Shouldn't You Be in School? (2014):	Absent
When Did You See Her Last? (2013):	Absent	Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? (2015):	Absent
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents (2014):		Mentioned
Snicketverse
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (2002):		Appears
The Dismal Dinner (2004):		Absent
The Beatrice Letters (2006):		Absent
29 Myths on the Swinster Pharmacy (2014):		Absent
The Hero of the Story (2017):		Absent
Poison for Breakfast (2021):		Absent
Other Snicket Books
The Baby in the Manger (2002):		Absent
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming (2007):		Absent
The Lump of Coal (2008):		Absent
The Composer Is Dead (2009):		Absent
13 Words (2010):		Absent
The Dark (2013):		Absent
Goldfish Ghost (2017):		Absent

Gallery

Books

Klaus.

Lucky Smells Lumbermill.

Dr. Orwell's office.

A street by the lumbermill.

Netflix

The burnt remains of Paltryville.

Lucky Smells Lumbermill.

Dr. Georgina Orwell's office.