The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

The Bad Beginning is the first of thirteen novels in American author Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It tells the story of three children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, who are orphaned by an arsonous fire and sent to live with their distant and conniving cousin Count Olaf. The book was published on September 30, 1999 by HarperCollins and illustrated by Brett Helquist.

The first tale of the Baudelaire orphans 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. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.