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The Bad Beginning
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Read The Bad Beginning
A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book 1

The Bad Beginning (1999) (edit title/settings)

by Lemony Snicket (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

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... read more

Summary edit see section history

The author then provides a brief explanation of why the book should not be read, before describing the series' protagonists: Violet Baudelaire, a 14-year-old amateur inventor; Klaus Baudelaire, a 12-year-old bookworm; and Sunny Baudelaire, an infant with unusually powerful teeth (and she likes... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The author then provides a brief explanation of why the book should not be read, before describing the series' protagonists: Violet Baudelaire, a 14-year-old amateur inventor; Klaus Baudelaire, a 12-year-old bookworm; and Sunny Baudelaire, an infant with unusually powerful teeth (and she likes to bite things) . He really tries to keep you from reading this book

The Baudelaire children have left the unspecified city in which they live to spend the day at the deserted Briny Beach. While enjoying the solitude, their parents' inept banker, Arthur Poe, arrives to inform them that their mother and father have both died in a fire which has destroyed their mansion and all of their possessions. As executor of the Baudelaire estate, it is his duty to find a new home for the orphans.

The Baudelaires briefly live with Mr. Poe and his wife Polly, sharing a room with their ill-behaved children Edgar and Albert. All three Baudelaires are miserable and apathetic to their situation, but Mr. Poe soon informs them that, in accordance with their parent's will (which requests that the children be cared for "in the most convenient way possible"),<1> he has located a distant cousin, Count Olaf, who lives within the city limits and is willing to become the children's legal guardian.

On the car ride to Olaf's house, Mr. Poe explains to the Baudelaires that while Olaf is titularly a count, he is also a professional stage actor. When the car arrives in Olaf's neighborhood, the children are greeted by the kindly Justice Strauss, a judge on the High Court. When Violet mistakes her for Olaf's wife, however, Strauss hastily explains that she is only a neighbor, and directs the children and Mr. Poe to the squalid and betowered house that is Olaf's; carved on the front door is the image of a glaring eye.

The children soon learn that Olaf has only accepted their guardianship under the mistaken belief that he will receive their vast inheritance (which has been set aside until Violet turns 18). Olaf is sinister, self-absorbed, and unhygienic; he bears a tattoo of the glaring eye on his left ankle and a distinctive unibrow. When the count learns that he will not receive the Baudelaire fortune, he immediately drops all pretenses of friendliness toward the children. Every day the count leaves to work with his theater troupe, posting a list of often demeaning chores which the children must perform before his return home. Although the house is spacious, the orphans are given only one room and one bed. They are strictly forbidden to enter Olaf's tower study, and are provided with no belongings.

Eventually Olaf informs the children by way of the chore list that his 10-man theater troupe will be coming over in the evening, when the Baudelaires must serve dinner. Having no suitable supplies to make a meal for ten, the children spend the day with Justice Strauss shopping for ingredients to make spaghetti alla puttanesca and chocolate pudding. That evening Olaf arrives with his theater troupe, a motley crew which includes a man with hooks for hands, a bald man with a long nose, two women with white-powdered faces, and one who is so obese as to resemble neither a man nor a woman. The count and his troupe openly discuss his intentions to embezzle the children's inheritance, and Olaf becomes outraged when he learns the children have not prepared roast beef. When Klaus protests, Olaf slaps him and grabs Sunny, but calms down and allows the children to serve the puttanesca.

The next day the Baudelaires set out to find Mr. Poe, who works at Mulctuary Money Management, and report Olaf's abuse. Poe explains that Olaf is acting in loco parentis, and can raise them as he sees fit. The next morning, Olaf stays late to speak with the Baudelaires. He explains that Mr. Poe called him to address the children's concerns, and that as a first-time parent, he has been uncertain how to connect with them. Olaf informs the children, to their dismay, that they will be performing with his theater troupe in their upcoming production The Marvelous Marriage.

Convinced that the performance is a scheme to steal their fortune, Klaus spends the day researching inheritance law in Justice Strauss's personal library. His research is interrupted by the hook-handed man, however, who takes him back to Olaf's house. Klaus manages to grab a book on marriage law before he is taken away. During the night he discovers that a 14-year-old may get married with guardian consent, and realizes that Olaf plans to legally marry Violet in The Marvelous Marriage and in so doing form a concurrent estate, giving him unlimited access to their fortune. The next morning Klaus heads out early to confront Olaf with the evidence; the count confirms Klaus's theory and informs him that Sunny has been kidnapped on his behest and is being hung in a birdcage from the tower study window, to be dropped the moment he or his sister does not comply.

That day Violet attempts to visit Sunny, but finds the door to the tower guarded by the associate who looks like neither a man nor a woman. During the night she builds a grappling hook to scale the tower. When she reaches the top, however, she is met by the hook-handed man, who locks her in the uppermost room of the tower and brings Klaus to join her. Together the three children wait out the night in anticipation of the Marvelous Marriage performance.

The Marvelous Marriage itself serves little other purpose than as a vehicle for the wedding. Justice Strauss is procured for the role of the officiator (hence ensuring it is a legal ceremony), and Violet plays the role of the bride. Klaus is given a role with no lines, while Sunny remains locked in the birdcage under the hook-handed man's supervision. Every attempt the children make to speak to Strauss or Mr. Poe (who has come to see the performance) is interrupted by Olaf. When the time comes for Violet to sign the wedding contract, she makes a final effort to annul the marriage by signing the document with her left hand rather than her right. (The law required the document to be signed in the bride's "own hand".)

As soon as the contract has been signed, Olaf announces that the performance is over, and that Violet is now legally his wife. Mr. Poe, Justice Strauss, and many audience members object, but finally Strauss concludes that the ceremony has been legal. To Olaf's dismay, however, Violet informs Strauss that she has signed the document with the wrong hand, and the judge agrees that this is not in compliance with the law, rendering the ceremony annulled. Olaf orders the hook-handed man to drop their infant sister, but Sunny and the assistant have already arrived onstage. Mr. Poe attempts to arrest Olaf, but one of the assistants turns the house lights off. In the darkness and ensuing confusion, only Violet in her white wedding gown is readily visible. Olaf finds her and promises that he will return for the fortune and kill them, then disappears with his theater troupe.

Once order is restored, Mr. Poe calls the police, but only Olaf's getaway car is found. Justice Strauss offers to adopt the Baudelaires, but Poe objects, observing that their parents' will instructs the children be raised by a relative. In compliance with the law, Strauss bids the children goodbye and leaves them in the care of Mr. Poe. (Wikipedia) The end,

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Graf Olafs Haus: The main protagonist, bent upon taking the Baudelaire fortune for himself
  • Violet Baudelaire: The oldest Baudelaire, who loves to use her incredibly advanced mind to invent things. Her extraordinary capability will prove useful in the near future...fourteen
  • Klaus Baudelaire: A young, cleaver boy quite interesting in books. Klaus retains almost everything he reads, which prves to be helpful when matched up with an evil Count. Bookworm
  • Sunny Baudelaire: Youngest Baudelaire, no hobbies other than biting because she has incredibly sharp teeth which come in handy. Speaks in words that don't make sense to most people. Is an infant.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire: The Baudelaire children's parents, who tragically, yet mysteriously, perished in a fire.
  • Mr. Poe: A fat sick banker, he is responsible for the Baudelaire children's fortune until Violet is of age.
  • Albert: One of two "loud and obnoxious" Poe children.
  • Justice Strauss: Lives next door to Count Olaf. And a judge who loves the Baudelaire children.
  • Edgar: The second of the two "loud and obnoxious" Poe children.
  • Mrs. Poe: Mr. Poes wife
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over.”
    Narrator(Lemony Snicket)
  • “...most people had trouble understanding what it was that Sunny was saying. For instance, this morning she was saying "Gack!" over and over, which probably meant, "Look at that mysterious figure emerging from the fog!"”
    Narrator(Lemony Snicket)
  • “Sometimes, just saying that you hate something, and having someone agree with you, can make you feel better about a terrible situation.”
    Narrator(Lemony Snicket)
  • “But it is very difficult to keep one’s chin up when Count Olaf keeps on shoving it down.”
    Klaus Baudelaire
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • They didn’t understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.
    Highlighted by 66 Kindle customers
  • He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over.
    Highlighted by 66 Kindle customers
  • You and I, of course, would never do this to any of our grieving acquaintances, but it is a sad truth in life that when someone has lost a loved one, friends sometimes avoid the person, just when the presence of friends is most needed.
    Highlighted by 54 Kindle customers
  • It is very useful, when one is young, to learn the difference between “literally” and “figuratively.” If something happens literally, it actually happens; if something happens figuratively, it feels like it’s happening.
    Highlighted by 49 Kindle customers
  • Violet Baudelaire, the eldest, liked to skip rocks. Like most fourteen-year-olds, she was right-handed,
    Highlighted by 45 Kindle customers
  • Sunny Baudelaire, the youngest, liked to bite things. She was an infant, and very small for her age, scarcely larger than a boot.
    Highlighted by 41 Kindle customers
  • The money is an incentive—the word “incentive” here means “an offered reward to persuade you to do something you don’t want to do”—to read long, dull, and difficult books.
    Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers
  • resourceful, and had pleasant facial features, but they were extremely unlucky, and most everything that happened to them was rife with misfortune, misery, and despair.
    Highlighted by 39 Kindle customers
  • From time to time, the Baudelaire children looked at one another, but with their future such a mystery they could think of nothing to say.
    Highlighted by 37 Kindle customers
  • Klaus Baudelaire, the middle child, and the only boy, liked to examine creatures in tide-pools. Klaus was a little older than twelve and wore glasses, which made him look intelligent. He was intelligent.
    Highlighted by 28 Kindle customers
Show all 14 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Briny Beach: The beach where the children are when they find out the fate of their parents.
  • Within the city: The most convenient place for the children to remain. The reason they come to live with Count Olaf.

Organizations edit see section history

  • VFD: VFD is a mysterious organization that appears in the series.

First Sentence edit see section history

If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.

Table of Contents edit see section history

This book has thirteen untitled chapters.

Glossary edit see section history

  • grotesque: bizarre or atypical
  • skulk: Keep out of site, typically with a sinister or cowardly motive.
  • relinquished: To retire from, give up or abandon.
  • nefarious: Infamous by way of being extremely wicked
  • treachery: wilful betrayal

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • discovery: The children in the story have to use their various skills to discover a plot that is against them.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 13 in A Series of Unfortunate Events. (standard series)

Followed by The Reptile Room.

This is book 140 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 31 of 216 in Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 (2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 136 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 138 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 696 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
This is book 140 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Lemony Snicket (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Brett Helquist (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: HarperCollins
Country: United States
Publication Date: September 30, 1999
ISBN: 0064407667
Page Count: 162

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.S6795 Bad 1999
  • Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Easy to read and helps others understand complicated words. These books are also conducive to ages 12+.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Mermaids in the Fish-Tank: (and Other Things that Should Fit, but Just... Don't)
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events (Books 1 to 13)
  • Fly by Night
  • The Kneebone Boy
  • Alex and the Ironic Gentleman

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Anybodies
  • Lemony Snicket
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events (Books 1 to 13)

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