The Bad Beginning

Be warned – to commiserate 25 years of misfortune and gloom, Lemony Snicket’s publishers have taken the untold risk of creating brand new collectors’ editions of A Series of Unfortunate Events, illustrated by the obscenely talented Emily Gravett. The temptation to buy a copy is severe indeed…

Dear reader,

You still have time to choose another international best-selling series to read. But if you insist on discovering the unpleasant adventures of the Baudelaire orphans, then proceed with caution…

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky.

In The Bad Beginning, the siblings encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune and cold porridge for breakfast.

In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted.

Despite their wretched contents, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ has sold 60 million copies worldwide and been made into a Hollywood film starring Jim Carrey and massively popular Netflix series starring Neil Patrick Harris.

Are you unlucky enough to own all 13 adventures?

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

The Miserable Mill

The Austere Academy

The Ersatz Elevator

The Vile Village

The Hostile Hospital

The Carnivorous Carnival

The Slippery Slope

The Grim Grotto

The Penultimate Peril

The End

Reviews

‘Perhaps A Series of Unfortunate Events is so special simply because Handler saw children as people. He took his readers seriously' – Guardian

‘Lemony Snicket is the new Harry Potter’ – Entertainment Weekly

‘Deliciously wicked and wonderful’ – The Times

‘Lemony Snicket is a publishing phenomenon’ – Independent

‘Harry Potter’s worst nightmare’ – Evening Standard

About the author

Lemony Snicket was born before you were and is likely to die before you as well. He was born in a small town where the inhabitants were suspicious and prone to riot. He grew up near the sea and currently lives beneath it. Until recently, he was living somewhere else.

Emily Gravett is the winner of two CILIP Kate Greenaway Medals and is the creator of the ground-breaking Wolves. She is also a ceramicist and lives in Brighton with her family.