Description
The Bad Beginning is the delightfully dark and wickedly clever first book in Lemony Snicket’s bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events. With a voice full of dry wit and dire warnings, Snicket introduces readers to the ill-fated lives of the Baudelaire orphans—a trio of bright, resourceful siblings who, through no fault of their own, are thrust into a series of grim and absurd misadventures.
The story begins with tragedy: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire lose their parents in a mysterious fire that destroys their home. Orphaned and alone, the children are placed in the custody of Count Olaf, a distant relative with a filthy house, a terrible acting troupe, and a sinister desire to steal their family fortune. As Olaf’s schemes grow increasingly vile—including a sham marriage designed to secure the Baudelaire inheritance—the children must rely on their wits and one another to survive.
Violet, the eldest, is a brilliant inventor. Klaus, the middle child, is a voracious reader with a keen intellect. And Sunny, though still a baby, has razor-sharp teeth and a fierce spirit. Together, they face absurd adults, legal loopholes, and the ever-present threat of Olaf’s villainy.
Told with deadpan humor and an ever-present sense of doom, The Bad Beginning sets the tone for the entire 13-book series: a gothic, stylized world where things rarely go right, and where children are often far wiser than the grown-ups meant to protect them. Snicket (the fictional narrator, as well as the author’s pen name) constantly breaks the fourth wall, warning readers to stop reading if they’re looking for a happy ending—and yet, it’s impossible to look away.
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