The Bad Beginning

Dan Handler; Lemony Snicket

ISBN 10: 1405207256 / ISBN 13: 9781405207256

Published by Egmont Books Limited, UK, 2003

About this Item

Quarter leather bound with decorative gilt and cloth board. In Fine condition save for the faintest touch of wear to some of the gilt lettering and outer edges. Signed in person, with "Dan Handler [allegedly L.S.]" across the dedication page. Egmont Books Limited UK 2003 publication, First Edition, First Printing, with "1" being the lowest number present indicating the printing of this edition, bound and printed in Italy. A beautiful hardcover with a die-cut front board revealing the illustrated front free endpaper. Illustrated whimsically with 6 full page color plates as well as illustrations for each chapter by Brett Helquist; all art work is clean and crisp. Interior is spotless. A beautiful collector s copy in pristine condition with the author s authentic signature. First Edition, First Printing of this 2003 Egmont Books Limited Edition.

Seller Inventory # 5350

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Bad Beginning
• Publisher: Egmont Books Limited, UK
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1405207256
• ISBN 13: 9781405207256
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Brett Helquist
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket issued
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Modern Classics
  • Books To Films
  • FICTION
  • Collectible Children's Books
  • Christmas Books

About this title

Synopsis

It's a good thing that Violet Baudelaire has a real knack for inventing things. When misery comes to call, the right invention at the right time can mean everything.

It's also fortunate that her brother, Klaus, has read lots of books and knows many important things, like how to tell an alligator from a crocodile and who killed Julius Caesar. When everything that can possibly go wrong does, a small fact can be vital.

It's lucky, too, that Sunny Baudelaire, the youngest sibling, likes to bite things. Even though she is an infant, and scarcely larger than a boot, she has four very big and sharp teeth. When trouble comes along, sharp teeth can save the day.

But most of all, it is good fortune that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are as sturdy and resilient as they are, for ahead of these three children lies a seemingly infinite series of unfortunate events.

Review

Make no mistake. The Bad Beginning begins badly for the three Baudelaire children, and then gets worse. Their misfortunes begin one gray day on Briny Beach when Mr. Poe tells them that their parents perished in a fire that destroyed their whole house. "It is useless for me to describe to you how terrible Violet, Klaus, and even Sunny felt in the time that followed," laments the personable (occasionally pedantic) narrator, who tells the story as if his readers are gathered around an armchair on pillows. But of course what follows is dreadful. The children thought it was bad when the well-meaning Poes bought them grotesque-colored clothing that itched. But when they are ushered to the dilapidated doorstep of the miserable, thin, unshaven, shiny-eyed, money-grubbing Count Olaf, they know that they--and their family fortune--are in real trouble. Still, they could never have anticipated how much trouble. While it's true that the events that unfold in Lemony Snicket's novels are bleak, and things never turn out as you'd hope, these delightful, funny, linguistically playful books are reminiscent of Roald Dahl (remember James and the Giant Peach and his horrid spinster aunts), Charles Dickens (the orphaned Pip in Great Expectations without the mysterious benefactor), and Edward Gorey (The Gashlycrumb Tinies). There is no question that young readers will want to read the continuing unlucky adventures of the Baudelaire children in The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson