Lemony Snicket bibliography

This is a complete list of books by Lemony Snicket, the pen name of American author Daniel Handler, who has written other books as well. As of winter 2012 there are 24 published books of fiction by Snicket, thirteen in the Series of Unfortunate Events franchise, which also includes at least three companion books. His works have been translated into more than 40 languages and have sold more than 60 million copies.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Main article: A Series of Unfortunate Events

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of children's novels which follows the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents' death in an arsonous house fire. The children are placed in the custody of their distant cousin Count Olaf, who begins to abuse them and openly plots to embezzle their inheritance. After the Baudelaires are removed from his care by their parents' estate executor, Arthur Poe, Olaf begins to doggedly hunt the children down, bringing about the serial slaughter and holocaust of a multitude of characters.

The entire series is actively narrated by Snicket, who makes numerous references to his mysterious, deceased love interest, Beatrice. Both Snicket and Beatrice play roles in the story along with Snicket's family members, all of whom are part of an overarching conspiracy known to the children only as "V.F.D."

Since the release of the first novel, The Bad Beginning, the books have gained significant popularity, critical acclaim, and commercial success worldwide, spawning a film, video game, and assorted merchandise. The thirteen books in the series have collectively sold more than 60 million copies and have been translated into 41 languages.

The Bad Beginning

Main article: The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning is the first novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. After the Baudelaire children learn their parents have died in a mansion fire, their banker Arthur Poe puts the Baudelaires in the custody of their distant cousin Count Olaf. Olaf neglects, abuses, and openly plots to embezzle the orphans with the help of his theater troupe. He orders the children take part in his troupe's performance of The Marvelous Marriage, Violet as the bride. Klaus learns from a legal book lent by their kindly neighbor, Justice Strauss, that if Olaf marries Violet, he will have access to their inheritance. When he confronts Olaf, the count traps Sunny in a birdcage and threatens her life if the children do not cooperate. On the night of the performance, Strauss plays the part of the judge, unwittingly officiating over a real marriage. When the performance is over, Olaf releases Sunny, but the orphans reveal his plot to Strauss, who annuls the marriage on a technicality, and to Poe, who arrests Olaf. The count and his troupe escape and promise to steal the Baudelaires' fortune and kill them. Strauss offers to take custody of the children, but Poe explains that their parents' will specifies only relatives as guardians.

The Reptile Room

Main article: The Reptile Room

The Reptile Room is the second novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are sent to live with their distant in-law, the herpetologist Dr. Monty Montgomery. Monty's profession involves traveling to exotic locations and cataloguing new species of reptiles. His most recent find is the Incredibly Deadly Viper, a large and intelligent but harmless snake. Monty's assistant, Gustav Sebald, has disappeared, and in time for an expedition to Peru, the herpetologist's new assistant Stephano (who is Count Olaf in disguise) arrives. The Baudelaires try to warn Monty, but when the herpetologist finally begins to suspect Stephano, he is murdered with the venom of one of his own snakes. Olaf plans to take the children to Peru, but the children's banker, Arthur Poe, arrives and learns of Monty's death. Olaf, still disguised as Stephano, convinces Poe that one of the snakes must have killed the herpetologist. Unable to convince Poe that Stephano is Olaf, Violet searches through the count's belongings for evidence while Sunny and Klaus pretend to be attacked by the Incredibly Deadly Viper. When Violet finds a syringe of snake venom, Olaf escapes before Poe can arrest him.

The Wide Window

Main article: The Wide Window

The Wide Window is the third novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are sent to live with their distant relative Josephine Anwhistle, a widow who lives on a cliff over Lake Lachrymose. Josephine, whose husband Ike was eaten by the leeches of Lake Lachrymose, has numerous phobias which include seemingly everything but the lake, which can be seen through a large window in her library. When word of a hurricane reaches the town, Josephine goes to buy provisions in town, where she meets Captain Julio Sham, who is actually Count Olaf is disguise. When Josephine returns, the Baudelaires hear the library window shatter and discover a suicide note from Josephine leaving them in Sham's custody. Arthur Poe arrives and begins work with Olaf (still in disguise) on the custody papers. While waiting in the house, the children discover the message "Curdled Cave" hidden in the suicide note. The orphans find the cave on a map of the lake but are forced to flee when the hurricane destroys Josephine's house. Stealing one of Sham's rental boats, the Baudelaires head through the hurricane to the cave, where Josephine in hiding. The widow explains that Olaf threatened her life if she did not give him the children, but the Baudelaires force her return with them as evidence for Poe. On the way they are intercepted by Olaf, who takes them aboard his boat and pushes Josephine into the lake, where she is eaten by the leeches. Nonetheless, the Baudelaires convince Poe that Sham is Olaf. The count escapes once again.

The Miserable Mill

Main article: The Miserable Mill

The Miserable Mill is the fourth novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are sent to live with Sir, the co-owner of a lumber company. Unbeknownst to Arthur Poe, they are forced to work unpaid in the mill, where they befriend the optimistic worker Phil and the company's other co-owner, Charles. The lumbermill's unscrupulous foreman, Flacutono, breaks Klaus's glasses. When Klaus returns from the optometrist, he behaves strangely for some time. When Klaus's glasses are broken again, the children together visit the optometrist, a Dr. Georgina Orwell, only to find that she is a hypnotist working with Count Olaf, who is disguised as her receptionist Shirley Sinoit-Pécer. Olaf plans to coerce the hypnotic Klaus into murdering Charles, after which he (as Shirley) will offer to become the children's guardian and relieve Sir of the burden. The plan is foiled by Violet, who discovers how to unhypnotize her brother, and in the process Orwell is killed, but Sir still wishes to relinquish custody to Shirley. Poe arrives, and learning that the children have been forced to work, he removes Sir's custody. The children convince Poe that Shirley is Olaf, but the count escapes with Flacutono, who was one of his associates in disguise. Poe explains that he cannot keep finding new guardians for the children, and that they will have to attend boarding school.

The Austere Academy

Main article: The Austere Academy

The Austere Academy is the fifth novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are sent to Prufrock Preparatory School, an academy overseen by the tyrannic Vice Principal Nero. While treated poorly and confined to a shack outside the dormitories, the children befriend fellow students and triplets Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, who lost their brother and parents in a fire similar to the Baudelaires'. All five children are persistently taunted by their obnoxious classmate Carmelita Spats. When the Quagmires learn of the Baudelaires' troubles and note the similarity of their plights, the triplets begin to research Count Olaf in the school library's records. Olaf soon arrives disguised as Genghis, the school's new gym teacher. He begins the aptly names "Special Orphan Running Exercises" (S.O.R.E.) for the Baudelaires, forcing them to spend every night running laps out on the field. Unable to stay awake during the day, the children begin failing their classes. Finally Nero announces that if they do not each pass a special exam, they will be expelled and placed in private tutoring with Genghis. On the night before the exams, the Quagmires disguise themselves as the Baudelaires (using a bag of flour for Sunny) and take their places for S.O.R.E., leaving Violet, Klaus, and Sunny to study for their exams. The next morning Poe arrives and the children pass their exams. When they convince Poe that Genghis is Olaf, the count escapes to black car driven by two of his associates, and the Baudelaires see that he has kidnapped the Quagmires. Duncan tries to tell the Baudelaires a secret he and his sister have discovered about Count Olaf, but all the children can hear is "V.F.D."

The Ersatz Elevator

Main article: The Ersatz Elevator

The Ersatz Elevator is the sixth novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are sent to live with Jerome and Esmé Squalor, a wealthy couple who live in the penthouse of a 66 story apartment complex in the city. While Jerome is kindly toward the orphans, Esmé is obsessed with fashion and constantly occupied in her collaboration with a man named Gunther on a fashion auction known as the In Auction. When the children finally meet Gunther, they realize he is Count Olaf in disguise. When Olaf leaves the apartment complex without passing the doorman, the orphans search for a secret exit, and discover that there is an extra elevator door on the 66th floor which leads to an empty elevator shaft. The children make a rope and lower themselves down until they reach a room in which they find Duncan and Isadora Quagmire trapped in a cage. The Baudelaires climb back up the shaft to find a means of rescue for Quagmires, but when they return the triplets are gone. The children return and find Esmé, who tells them she is working with Olaf, then pushes them into the shaft, where they are caught in a net. Sunny climbs the shaft using her teeth and retrieves the rope, then the children climb down to bottom, where they discover a tunnel which leads to a secret door in the ruins of their former home. The children head to the In Auction to find Olaf and Esmé; at the auction they find Poe and Jerome. The children expose Olaf and Esmé, and to Jerome's dismay, the count announces Esmé is his girlfriend, then the two villains escape. Jerome announces he will take the orphans far away from their troubles, but the Baudelaires are unwilling to desert the Quagmires. Jerome relinquishes his custody back to Poe and leaves the children.

The Vile Village

Main article: The Vile Village

The Vile Village is the seventh novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Baudelaires are sent to a village called VFD. They believe it has something to do with the VFD the Quagmire triplets mentioned before they were kidnapped. The village is mostly made up of old people that just work all day. So they put the Baudelaires to work.The Baudelaires eventually find the Quagmire Triplets Hidden In A Fountain towards the end of the book. And as always,they find Olaf But He Escapes.

The Hostile Hospital

Main article: The Hostile Hospital

The Hostile Hospital is the eighth novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Its about having VFD and the children Violet Klaus and Sunny go into Heimlich Hospital.There they encounter yet another fire and another one of Count Olaf's schemes.

The Carnivorous Carnival

Main article: The Carnivorous Carnival

The Carnivorous Carnival is the ninth novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The children travel to the Hinterlands after escaping the Heimlich Hospital by trunck-of-Olaf's-car. This book takes place in the Caligari Carnival run by Madame Lulu.

The Slippery Slope

Main article: The Slippery Slope

The Slippery Slope is the tenth novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The children travel to the Mortmain Mountains after escaping yet another fire at the Caligari Carnival. Sunny gets separated from Violet and Klaus. Violet and Klaus meet up with another volunteer soon discovered as Quigley Quagmire, the long lost triplet of the Quagmire Family. He helps Violet and Klaus make their way to the destroyed VFD headquarters. He it is hinted that he has a romantic attatchment to Violet and indirectly tells her that she is lovely as they rest on a ledge before resuming their climb on the waterfall. With Violet and Klaus working on the arsonned building and Sunny eavesdropping Count Olaf, the Baudelaires learn much more about the secret organization of V.F.D.

The Grim Grotto

Main article: The Grim Grotto

The Grim Grotto is the eleventh novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The story takes place in a submarine, the Queequeg. The Queequeg only has 3 members, they are: 1. Captain Widdershins, The captain who is also a volunteer of V.F.D. 2. Phil, he worked at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. But then, he worked as a chef in Queequeg 3. Fiona, Captain Widdershins stepdaughter.

The Penultimate Peril

Main article: The Penultimate Peril

The Baudelaire orphans go to Hotel Denouement where they meet Kit Snicket, Lemony's sister, and disguise themselves as concierges and flaneur, a term Handler uses as a person who observes things, the orphans have to find out who is a volunteer and who is a villain. While the orphans encounter people from their past the sugar bowl is being delivered. They must detect if a manager is a volunteer named Frank, or a villain, named Ernest. The children encounter a harpoon gun, a rooftop sunbathing salon, two mysterious initials, J.S, three unidentified triplets, and an unsavory curry.

The End

Main article: The End (novel)

The End is the thirteenth novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Chapter 14 is a mini book in the book. In this book, the Baudelaires are stranded on a boat with Olaf. They eventually reach an island that they've never heard of before.

Other Unfortunate Events canon

The Unauthorized Autobiography

Main article: Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography

Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (2002) is a fictional autobiography of Lemony Snicket released in conjunction with A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Autobiography tells the story of Snicket's childhood and abduction by V.F.D. using letters, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia.

The Dismal Dinner

"Mysterious Messages Concerning the Dismal Dinner" (2004), commonly called "The Dismal Dinner", is a short miniseries by Lemony Snicket which ties in with A Series of Unfortunate Events, set before The Bad Beginning. The four-part series was released in 2004 with Lunchables in promotion of the film. The series describes a scene at the fourth-to-last dinner party held by Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire before their deaths. Each part includes a clue which together spell out: Olaf was there.

Snicket describes a dinner party in which "at least two guests were disguised as desserts". As Bertrand Baudelaire is about to cut into these desserts and several guests are passing around "the sugar bowl", Sunny Baudelaire sees a man with an "exceptionally large and sharp" nose looking through the window and shrieks, "Funcoot!", which Snicket glosses as, "I believe I may have seen someone lurking outside" ("Al Funcoot" is an anagrammatic pseudonym of Count Olaf). Klaus, having just read Taking the Teeth Out of Teething, believes that Sunny is teething, prompting Violet to create a device using "a silver pie server and the ear of the snowman ice sculpture" (likely one and the same as "the guest disguised as the ice sculpture [who] wore a bowtie") to soothe Sunny's teeth. The figure in the window disappears, and Sunny calms down. Snicket concludes that the occasion was a "fateful event".

The Beatrice Letters

Main article: The Beatrice Letters

The Beatrice Letters (2006) is a collection of fictional letters between Lemony Snicket, Beatrice Baudelaire, and a second Beatrice, released as part of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Letters between Snicket and the elder Beatrice tells the story of their childhood, romance, and eventual separation. Letters from the younger Beatrice tells of the lives of the Baudelaire orphans after the events of The End.

13 Shocking Secrets ... Lemony Snicket

13 Shocking Secrets you'll wish you never knew about Lemony Snicket (2006) is a promotional pamphlet containing thirteen "secrets" about Lemony Snicket; the final secret is found by decoding a puzzle. It was distributed through the HarperCollins AuthorTracker mailing list and on the Lemony Snicket website in promotion of The End. The day after the pamphlet was published, HarperCollins issued a press release revealing that Lemony Snicket had finished writing The End, the final book in the series. The final secret is also echoed near the bottom of the "Dear Reader" letter for volume 13, The End.

1. Lemony Snicket is not who you think he is.
   • This may be referencing that Snicket is actually a character in the series; that he is guilty of some of the crimes for which he has been convicted; or simply that he is a pseudonym of Daniel Handler.
2. Lemony Snicket is one of three siblings.
   • Snicket is the youngest of three alphabetically named children: Jacques Snicket, Kit Snicket, and Lemony Snicket.
3. Lemony Snicket's niece is an orphan.
   • Beatrice Baudelaire is the daughter of Dewey Denouement and Kit Snicket; at the time of the pamphlet's publication, Kit was still alive in the series.
4. Lemony Snicket is wanted for arson.
   • The Baudelaires' parents, Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire, were killed in an arsonous house fire, as were Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire and Snicket's own parents.
5. Lemony Snicket grew up with a terrible villain.
   • Snicket attended V.F.D. training with Count Olaf.
6. Lemony Snicket attended boarding school.
   • Snicket's V.F.D. training entailed being taken away from his parents and raised in remote headquarters.
7. When he was a baby, Lemony Snicket was kidnapped by a secret organization.
   • V.F.D. took Snicket and his siblings into training while they were young.
8. Lemony Snicket was fired from The Daily Punctilio.
   • Snicket tried to expose Count Olaf and Esmé Squalor's attempts to embezzle audiences and kidnap Beatrice through a theater review column, but was stopped by Geraldine Julienne.
9. Lemony Snicket helped Beatrice commit a serious crime before her death.
   • Snicket, Beatrice, and Bertrand probably murdered Count Olaf's parents. Alternatively, he assisted Beatrice in stealing the Sugar Bowl.
10. Lemony Snicket was disguised as a bull fighter [sic] when he was captured.
    • Lemony Snicket attended the Duchess of Winnipeg's masquerade in a bullfighter costume.
11. Lemony Snicket's work is filled with secret messages meant for his associates.
    • In several books Snicket openly communicates with other members of V.F.D., such as his sister Kit.
12. Lemony Snicket has a tattoo of an eye on his ankle.
    • All adult members of V.F.D. are branded with this eye, including Count Olaf, Jacques Snicket, Kit Snicket, Bertrand and Beatrice Baudelaire, Esmé Squalor, Monty Montgomery, and Josephine Anwhistle.
13. He is finished.
    • The End contains the death of Count Olaf, the birth of Beatrice Snicket, and the resolution to the Baudelaires' helplessness, so it is no longer Snicket's duty to chronicle the events.

All the Wrong Questions

Main article: All the Wrong Questions

Snicket signed in 2009 to write a four-part prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, working with new U.K. and U.S. publishers and Unfortunate Events editor Susan Rich.

• Who Could That Be At This Hour? (October 2012)
• When Did You See Her Last? (September 2013)
• Shouldn't You Be In School? (September 2014)

Unfortunate Events companion books

The Blank Book

The Blank Book (Harper Collins, March 2004, ISBN 0-06-058656-7) is the first of two commonplace books in the Unfortunate Events franchise. Product display by online retailer Amazon is titled "The Blank Book (A Series of Unfortunate Events Journal)" and gives the information 176 pages, hardcover. For the sequel, The Notorious Notations (2006), Amazon helpfully specifies "( ... Blank Journal)".

Commonplace books appear in A Series of Unfortunate Events, used primarily by Duncan, Isadora, and Quigley Quagmire, Jacques Snicket and later by Klaus Baudelaire, to write notes on their experiences and discoveries in the hopes of solving the mystery of V.F.D. Of course the product might be used for any diary or journal.

The bottom of each page is printed with quotations from A Series of Unfortunate Events and illustrations by Brett Helquist. There is also a sheet of Unfortunate Events stickers. The cover illustration shows the main villain Count Olaf surrounded by fire, smiling and holding a dip pen.

The Notorious Notations

The Notorious Notations (February 2006, ISBN 0-06-087235-7) is the second of two commonplace books in the Unfortunate Events franchise. Product display by Amazon is titled "The Notorious Notations (A Series of Unfortunate Events - Blank Journal)" and gives the information 176 pages, hardcover.

Almost every page gives a quotation from the books or an illustration by Brett Helquist. The cover illustration features a silhouette of Count Olaf in profile. The copyright statement includes "All rights reserved. Certain quotations in this book have been abbreviated for your own safety ... Any resemblance to codes, living or dead, is purely coincidental ... ."

Of course Notorious Notations may be used for any diary or journal, or as as the Quagmire siblings and Klaus Baudelaire used commonplace books beginning in Unfortunate Events #5, The Austere Academy.

The Puzzling Puzzles

The Puzzling Puzzles: Bothersome Games Which Will Bother Some People is a spin-off first published in 2004 as a promotion for the movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and expanded in 2006 (U.S. only). The title of product display by Amazon for the expanded edition specifies "(A Series of Unfortunate Events Activity Book)" and gives the information 96 pages, paperback.

The Puzzling Puzzles is nominally a training manual for the V.F.D. organization. It is filled puzzles related to Unfortunate Events, including some that follow the film alone (spyglasses) or the books alone (the Sebald Code). Many of the puzzles are unsolvable or trick questions. For example, one refers to a black and white picture of a restaurant and asks about the colour of the maître d''s socks; another asks how many spyglasses there are, although some are not shown. The last page is printed upside-down with the message "If you are a spying villain or a villainous spy, we're sorry to tell you this entire page is a typographical error", before going on to welcome the reader into V.F.D.

The second U.S. edition (2006) is expanded, with a new cover (see image, from artwork in The Bad Beginning: Special Edition), sixteen new puzzles, and an additional introduction by R. In the United Kingdom, an edition was released February 2007 with the new cover but lacking the new U.S. contents.

Other works

13 Words

13 Words is a picture book. It is illustrated by Maira Kalman. It tells a story through 13 words: bird, despondent, cake, dog, busy, convertible, goat, hat, haberdashery, scarlet, baby, panache, and mezzo-soprano. It erroneously defines a haberdashery as a hat shop.

The Baby in the Manger

Main article: The Baby in the Manger

The Baby in the Manger is a secular Nativity story.

The Composer Is Dead

Main article: The Composer Is Dead

The Composer Is Dead is a murder mystery about the killing of a composer, with text by Snicket and music by Nathaniel Stookey. It takes place in an orchestra, and is designed to help introduce children to the parts of an orchestra. It was conceived of as a more modern version of the well-known Prokofiev piece Peter and the Wolf.

Horseradish

Main article: Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid' is a "wit and wisdom" quotation book partly drawn from A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming

Main article: The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming is about an irate latke at Hanukkah who escapes from being boiled in a hot frying pan. He runs into various Christmas symbols (such as fairy lights, a candy cane and pine tree) who are all ignorant and uneducated about the customs of Hanukkah. The latke attempts to educate these people about the history and culture surrounding the Jewish holiday, but his attempts are always in vain and he runs away from each encounter in a fit of frustration.

The Lump of Coal

Main article: The Lump of Coal

The Lump of Coal is a Christmas story. A living lump of coal falls off a barbecue grill. He wishes for a miracle to happen. The lump of coal is artistic and wants to be an artist. He goes in search of something. First, he finds an art gallery that, he believes, shows art by lumps of coal. But when he comes in, he sadly discovers the art is by humans who use lumps of coal. He then finds a Korean restaurant called Wongs Korean Restaurant and Secretarial School. But he goes in and discovers that all things used must be 100% Korean (although the owner does not use a Korean name or proper Korean spices). The lump of coal continues down the street and runs into a man dressed like Santa. The lump of coal tells the man about his problem, and the man gets an idea. He suggests he put the lump of coal in his bratty son's stocking. The son finds it and is ecstatic. He has wanted to make art with coal. So he makes portraits and he and the lump of coal become rich. They move to Korea and open an actual genuine Korean restaurant and have a gallery of their art.

The Dark

Scheduled for a 2013 release, The Dark will be illustrated by Jon Klassen. It will be about a child overcoming his fear of the dark.

See also

• Lemony Snicket

External links

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