A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: the Bad Beginning
Hardcover – Deckle Edge, August 25, 1999
HarperCollins · Hardcover · August 25, 1999
**A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES** In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted.
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- Who it’s for
- A darkly comic tale pairs literary irreverence with children whose luck is spectacularly poor.
- Themes
- Orphaned siblings, Greed and family fortune, Untrustworthy adults
- Genres
- Orphans & Foster Kids, Funny Stories, Mysteries & Detective Stories
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For older readers: Carry on, Gallant, Cold Hearted-villains, Book 8
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Start with this bookAbout this book
**A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES** In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Miserably scrawled by Lemony Snicket and respectfully illustrated by Brett Helquist, never before has a series of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or quite so uproariously unhappy. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children.
Continue reading
They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky. In what is agreed upon by all to be a very bad beginning to the rest of their lives, these three youngsters not only learn that their parents have died and that they've become orphans overnight, but also that a one Count Olaf will be their caretaker. Repulsive, demanding, and downright sinister, Count Olaf proves to be as greedy as his eyes are beady (and, readers, they are beady). With their family fortune on the line, the siblings must endure a few terrible things before—we can only hope—making it out alive: itchy clothing, boiled potatoes, shamefully incompetent adults, and a wedding that no one wants to attend, including the bride. Read now…or forever hold your peace.
Wry Misfortune
A darkly comic tale pairs literary irreverence with children whose luck is spectacularly poor.
Come here for
- Sharp humor alongside genuinely unfortunate circumstances
- Resourceful siblings and adults who are spectacularly unhelpful
Expect
- A dark, deftly crafted comic tone
- Unlucky children facing a sinister caretaker
Where it sits
| Mysteries & Detective Stories | 60% |
|---|---|
| Funny Stories | 42% |
| Orphans & Foster Kids | 37% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Action & Adventure
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Biographical Stories
- Orphans & Foster Kids
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Sibling Stories
- Halloween Stories
- Horror & Ghost Stories
- Funny Stories
- Authors
- Lemony Snicket
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- August 25, 1999
- Format
- Hardcover
- Theme
- Orphaned siblings · Greed and family fortune · Untrustworthy adults
- Reading lane
- Action & Adventure