A Series of Unfortunate Events: Volumes 1 to 10 and The Unauthorized Biography (First UK Editions, Signed) 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 and The Unauthorized Autobiography

Daniel Handler writing as Lemony Snicket; Brett Helquist (illustrator)

ISBN 10: 0749746114 / ISBN 13: 9780749746117

Published by Egmont, London, 2004

About this Item

First UK Editions of the first ten volumes of A Series of Unfortunate Events, plus the author s "Unauthorized Autobiography," issued in a matching binding. All volumes except the first volume and the separate autobiography are signed in the author s usual fashion, each with his blindstamp, "From the Library of Lemony Snicket," on the dedication page, and the author's ink notation, "With all due respect," and a date of 2004 across the stamp. Books 6, 7, and The Unauthorized Autobiography include the original publisher's wraparound band. All volumes Near Fine or better, lovely and unread. Sold only as a set.

Seller Inventory # 158099

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Series of Unfortunate Events: Volumes 1 to 10 and The Unauthorized Biography (First UK Editions, Signed) 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 and The Unauthorized Autobiography
• Publisher: Egmont, London
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0749746114
• ISBN 13: 9780749746117
• Binding: Hardcover
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Autograph Material
  • Books into Film
  • Children's Literature

About this title

Synopsis

Dear Reader,

I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

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