Series of Unfortunate Events

13 primary works • 27 total works Complete

The Bad Beginning

by Lemony Snicket

Published 25 August 1999

After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune.

The Reptile Room

by Lemony Snicket

Published 25 August 1999

This story has a happy ending. No, wait, that was a different tape...Dear Customer, If you have picked up this sheet, you have probably not read the warning so clearly outlined in my prior message. This story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire orphans spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle. But don't be fooled. The three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odour, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp and the reappearance of a person they'd hoped never to see again. I have made a solemn vow to present this information to the public, but there is nothing stopping you from tearing up this paper and pretending you've never heard of this CD. Then you can sell something that is less unpleasant. With all due respect, Lemony Snicket

The Wide Window

by Lemony Snicket

Published 2 February 2000

Having escaped Count Olaf's clutches for now, the three Baudelaire siblings, Violent, Klaus and Sunny, arrive on the shores of Lake Lachrymose to stay with their latest guardian, Aunt Josephine. Sadly, though kind and well-meaning, Aunt Josephine is terrified of absolutely everything: she will not heat her radiators, use the telephone or cook food, just in case those ordinary tasks prove fatal. Worse still, she gives Violet a doll called Pretty Penny and obsessively corrects the children's grammar. It is not long before local sailor Captain Sham, a thinly-disguised Count Olaf, gulls Aunt Josephine with the idea of a surprise for the children. Aunt Josephine suddenly goes missing that night, leaving a highly ungrammatical note, and the Baudelaire's must once again fight their way out of Count Olaf's wicked schemes. Finally, after sailing across the Lachrymose Lake in Hurricane Herman, a nasty moment in the Curdled Cave and an unpleasant encounter with the Lachrymose Leeches for Aunt Josephine, they unmask Captain Sham as Count Olaf. Olaf slips through their grasp once more but evilly promises to find them again, as he will in The Miserable Mill.

The Miserable Mill

by Lemony Snicket

Published 5 April 2000

Mr Poe delivers the three Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus and little Sunny, to their new guardian, the owner of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill in Paltryville. But far from living in the mill, they rapidly discover they will be working there and even worse, there is a book in the library by a Dr Orwell, sinisterly shaped like Count Olaf's eye tattoo. Each morning Foreman Flacutono wakes the workers by banging metal pots together and directs them through a day of arduous logscraping, with only chewing gum for lunch and damp casserole for dinner. Their guardian, a terrifying man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, known only as 'Sir', proposes unsatisfactorily that if they work in his mill, he'll 'try' to keep Count Olaf away. Klaus trips over Foreman Flacutono's strategically placed foot and his glasses get broken. He returns from the village eye doctor, none other than Dr Orwell, strangely changed. Violet believes Klaus has been hypnotised, and when they discover Dr Orwell's receptionist, Shirley, is really Count Olaf dressed horribly, her worst fears are confirmed.
Dr Orwell herself becomes the victim of the nasty accident at the lumbermill she, Foreman Flacutono and Shirley have arranged. Sir decides to pack the children off to their next dismal adventure at The Austere Academy.

The Austere Academy

by Lemony Snicket

Published 8 August 2000

As their outrageous misfortune continues, the Baudelaire orphans are shipped off to a miserable boarding school, where they befriend the two Quagmire triplets and find that they have been followed by the dreaded Count Olaf.

The Ersatz Elevator

by Lemony Snicket

Published 20 February 2001

Arriving at Dark Avenue, the three Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus and little Sunny, begin their new life with Jerome and Esme Squalor. Jerome is a kind man, but he agrees unquestioningly with everything said by his wife, who is the city's sixth most important financial advisor. The Baudelaires find themselves in a strange world of in things: aqueous martinis (consisting of water with an olive), pinstripe suits (even for infant Sunny) and meals only involving salmon. Sadly, elevators are out, and the children are obliged to walk the many steps up to the Squalors' penthouse. Even more sadly, they soon meet Count Olaf again, disguised as the auctioneer Gunther, and discover that the ersatz elevator is not an elevator at all, but a shaft in which the Quagmire triplets are imprisoned. When they tell Esme of the triplets' fate, she shocks them by throwing them down the elevator too and revealing herself to be in league with Count Olaf. Sunny manages to escape using her teeth, and help her siblings out, who run down the ersatz passageway to emerge - in a spectacular climax - in the charred remains of their parents' mansion!
With no time to reflect, they run to Esme's In Auction, hoping to save the Quagmires, but Esme and Olaf escape with the triplets, and the Baudelaires are once more left with only each other to rely on

Vile Village

by Lemony Snicket

Published 24 April 2001

There is nothing to be found in the pages of A Series of Unfortunate Events but misery and despair. You still have time to choose another international best-seller to read. But if you must know what unpleasantries befall the charming and clever Baudelaire children read on...Within the chapters of The Vile Village Violet, Klaus and Sunny face such unpleasant matters as migrating crows, an angry mob, a newspaper headline, the arrest of innocent people, the Deluxe cell, and some very strange hats. With 5 million copies sold in the UK alone, one might consider Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events to make him one of the most successful children's authors of the past decade. We, however, consider these miserable so-called adventure stories and the Hollywood film starring Jim Carrey that accompanied the books for children as nothing more than a dreadful mistake.

The Hostile Hospital

by Lemony Snicket

Published 1 August 2001

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

The Baudelaires need a safe place to stay--somewhere far away from terrible villains and local police. A quiet refuge where misfortune never visits. Might Heimlich Hospital be just the place?

In Lemony Snicket's eighth ghastly installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, I'm sorry to say that the Baudelaire orphans will spend time in a hospital where they risk encountering a misleading newspaper headline, unnecessary surgery, an intercom system, anesthesia, heart-shaped balloons, and some very startling news about a fire.

The Carnivorous Carnival

by Lemony Snicket

Published 29 October 2002

The ninth in the Series of Unfortunate Events continuing the story of the Baudelaire orphans. Read by Tim Curry. This carnivorous work contains such a distressing story that consuming any of its contents would be far more stomach-turning than even the most imbalanced meal. Read if you dare!!!

The Slippery Slope

by Lemony Snicket

Published 23 September 2003

Like bad smells, uninvited weekend guests, or very old eggs, there are some things that ought to be avoided -- The Slippery Slope is one of them!Snicket's saga about the charming, intelligent, and grossly unlucky Baudelaire orphans continues to alarm its distressed and suspicious fans the world over. The tenth book in this outrageous publishing effort features more than the usual dose of distressing details, such as snow gnats, an organized troupe of youngsters, an evil villain with a dastardly plan, a secret headquarters, and some dangerous antics you should not try at home. This is one chilling recording you would be better off without.

The Grim Grotto

by Lemony Snicket

Published 21 September 2004

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

Warning: Your day will become very dark—and possibly damp—if you read this book.

Plan to spend this spring in hiding. Lemony Snicket is back with the eleventh book in his New York Times bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Lemony Snicket's saga about the charming, intelligent and grossly unlucky Baudelaire orphans continues to provoke suspicion and despair in readers the world over. In the eleventh and most alarming volume yet in the bestselling phenomenon A Series of Unfortunate Events, the intrepid siblings delve further into the dark mystery surrounding the death of their parents and the baffling VFD organisation.

The Penultimate Peril

by Lemony Snicket

Published 18 October 2005

This is the 12th book in Lemony Snicket's 'Series of Unfortunate Events'.

The End

by Lemony Snicket

Published 13 October 2006

Like an off-key violin concert, the Roman Empire, or food poisoning, all things must come to an end. Thankfully, this includes "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket. The final installment in Mr Snicket's baker's dozen of books will answer readers' most burning questions: Will Count Olaf prevail? Will the Baudelaires survive? Will the series end happily? If there's nothing out there, what was that noise? Then again, why trouble yourself with unfortunate resolutions? Avoid the thirteenth and final book of Lemony Snicket's international bestselling series and you'll never have to know what happens.

The Beatrice Letters

by Lemony Snicket

Published 4 September 2006

Top secret—only for readers deeply interested in the Baudelaire case. How I pity these readers.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events Collection: Books 4-6

by Lemony Snicket

Published 1 October 2002

A Series of Unfortunate Events Collection: Books 7-9

by Lemony Snicket

Published 1 December 2003

Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography

by Lemony Snicket

Published 6 May 2003

A Series of Unfortunate Events Complete Collection: Books 1-13

by Lemony Snicket

Published 13 October 2006

A Box of Unfortunate Events

by Lemony Snicket

Published 2 October 2001

A Series of Unfortunate Events Collection: Books 1-3 with Bonus Material

by Lemony Snicket

Published 21 October 2002