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128-489: The children's novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events and its film and television adaptations features a large cast of characters created by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket . The original series follows the turbulent lives of the Baudelaire orphans, Violet , Klaus , and Sunny , after their parents are killed in an arsonous structure fire . It chronicles their multiple escapes from

256-404: A Peter Rabbit doll, making Peter the first licensed character . Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs, professors of children's literature at Brigham Young University, write, "Potter was the first to use pictures as well as words to tell the story, incorporating coloured illustration with text, page for page." Rudyard Kipling published The Jungle Book in 1894. A major theme in the book

384-716: A courtesy book by the Dutch priest Erasmus . A Pretty and Splendid Maiden's Mirror , an adaptation of a German book for young women, became the first Swedish children's book upon its 1591 publication. Sweden published fables and a children's magazine by 1766. In Italy , Giovanni Francesco Straparola released The Facetious Nights of Straparola in the 1550s. Called the first European storybook to contain fairy-tales, it eventually had 75 separate stories and written for an adult audience. Giulio Cesare Croce also borrowed from some stories children enjoyed for his books. Russia 's earliest children's books, primers , appeared in

512-511: A "secretarial school that isn't really a secretarial school", implying that she has found a V.F.D. training school. Her sixth letter is signed "Beatrice Baudelaire, Baticeer Extraordinaire." In the TV series, a preteen Beatrice Baudelaire II is portrayed by Angelina Capozzoli. After having been raised by the Baudelaires, she later encounters her uncle at Old Ed's Soda Shop to tell him what she and

640-401: A 200-page book explaining why the two could not be wed, something she could not have done had she believed Snicket to be dead. However, this may have been after he was revealed to be alive. This may contradict Ishmael's statement from The End that the ring was given to Beatrice then back to Lemony to Kit to Bertrand then back to Beatrice. Also, the newspaper article mentions Lemony's work as

768-529: A Land Baby , by Rev. Charles Kingsley (1862), which became extremely popular and remains a classic of British children's literature. In 1883, Carlo Collodi wrote the first Italian fantasy novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio , which was translated many times. In that same year, Emilio Salgari , the man who would become "the adventure writer par excellence for the young in Italy" first published his legendary character Sandokan . In Britain, The Princess and

896-567: A brightly colored cover that appealed to children—something new in the publishing industry. Known as gift books, these early books became the precursors to the toy books popular in the nineteenth century. Newbery was also adept at marketing this new genre. According to the journal The Lion and the Unicorn , "Newbery's genius was in developing the fairly new product category, children's books, through his frequent advertisements... and his clever ploy of introducing additional titles and products into

1024-460: A businessman in New York, who was accused of attempting to murder his wife, Sunny von Bülow . Violet Baudelaire is the eldest of the three Baudelaire orphans, as well as the daughter of Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire and is uniquely gifted in inventing abilities. She uses these skills to help her younger brother Klaus and her baby sister Sunny escape from Count Olaf time and time again. Violet

1152-461: A celebration at the V.F.D. headquarters on the day when Count Olaf failed to murder Beatrice. Count Olaf's acting troupe is a troupe of actors who follow Count Olaf as he hunts the Baudelaires. Few of them are given names. In the books, they are mostly referred to by descriptions. Along with Olaf, the members of the troupe often need to disguise themselves and use fake names, which are frequently anagrams of Count Olaf. Esmé Gigi Genevieve Squalor

1280-613: A fountain to cheer up Sunny. He was a childhood friend of Beatrice and a good friend of Dewey Denouement. As a member of V.F.D., Bertrand helped train the V.F.D. lions to become the Volunteer Feline Detectives. Count Olaf implies that Bertrand and Beatrice murdered Olaf's parents during an opera performance. At the beginning of the series, Bertrand dies in the fire that destroyed the Baudelaire Mansion. Before Violet's birth, Bertrand and Beatrice lived on

1408-526: A genre, Robinsonade ), adventure stories written specifically for children began in the nineteenth century. Early examples from British authors include Frederick Marryat 's The Children of the New Forest (1847) and Harriet Martineau 's The Peasant and the Prince (1856). The Victorian era saw the development of the genre, with W. H. G. Kingston , R. M. Ballantyne and G. A. Henty specializing in

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1536-467: A knowledge of the letters; be taught to read, without perceiving it to be anything but a sport, and play themselves into that which others are whipp'd for." He also suggested that picture books be created for children. In the nineteenth century, a few children's titles became famous as classroom reading texts. Among these were the fables of Aesop and Jean de la Fontaine and Charles Perraults's 1697 Tales of Mother Goose . The popularity of these texts led to

1664-489: A moral or religious message. Children's literature has been shaped by religious sources, like Puritan traditions, or by more philosophical and scientific standpoints with the influences of Charles Darwin and John Locke. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are known as the "Golden Age of Children's Literature" because many classic children's books were published then. There is no single or widely used definition of children's literature. It can be broadly defined as

1792-671: A movement concerned with reforming both education and literature for children. Its founder, Johann Bernhard Basedow , authored Elementarwerk as a popular textbook for children that included many illustrations by Daniel Chodowiecki . Another follower, Joachim Heinrich Campe , created an adaptation of Robinson Crusoe that went into over 100 printings. He became Germany's "outstanding and most modern" writer for children. According to Hans-Heino Ewers in The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature , "It can be argued that from this time,

1920-543: A new sophistication to the historical adventure novel. Philip Pullman in the Sally Lockhart novels and Julia Golding in the Cat Royal series have continued the tradition of the historical adventure. An important aspect of British children's literature has been comic books and magazines . Amongst the most popular and longest running comics have been The Beano and The Dandy , both first published in

2048-475: A purple ribbon to keep it out of her face. When Violet was five years old, she won an invention contest with an "automatic rolling pin", which she made using a window shade and six pairs of roller skates. Violet also invented a new kind of pencil sharpener , built a telephone from scratch and created a device to soothe Sunny's teething pains. Klaus Baudelaire is the middle child of the Baudelaire siblings. He

2176-897: A separate category of literature especially in the Victorian era , with some works becoming internationally known, such as Lewis Carroll 's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass . Another classic of the period is Anna Sewell 's animal novel Black Beauty (1877). At the end of the Victorian era and leading into the Edwardian era, author and illustrator Beatrix Potter published The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902. Potter went on to produce 23 children's books and become very wealthy. A pioneer of character merchandising, in 1903 she patented

2304-537: A series of twelve books . The Golden Age of Children's Literature ended with World War I . The period before World War II was much slower in children's publishing. The main exceptions in England were the publications of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne in 1926, the first Mary Poppins book by P. L. Travers in 1934, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1937, and the Arthurian The Sword in

2432-572: A spy from the Herpetological Society. Ultimately, Olaf murders Monty using snake venom and attempts to frame it as a snake bite. Although the children are able to reveal Olaf's true identity and how he murdered Monty, Olaf still manages to escape and remains at large at the end of the book. Monty also appears in some Snicket's other works and the broader universe of the series. Snicket's autobiography indicates that Uncle Monty's death may be partly attributable to his failure to learn

2560-540: A thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket who has moved to Stain'd-by-the-Sea. The town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea was abandoned following the closure of Ink Inc. (a large ink factory) and the town's sea being drained. Snicket recalls four adventures he had in Stain'd-by-the-Sea, with each revolving around a question he incorrectly asked. As Lemony and his chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, investigate crimes, Snicket makes both friends and enemies, including Hangfire. The series runs alongside

2688-519: A wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives and is best remembered today for her Noddy , The Famous Five , The Secret Seven , and The Adventure Series . The first of these children's stories, Five on a Treasure Island , was published in 1942. In the 1950s, the book market in Europe began to recover from the effects of the two world wars. An informal literary discussion group associated with

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2816-489: Is Count Olaf 's girlfriend and the ex-wife of Jerome Squalor . Her name is a reference to the short story " For Esmé—with Love and Squalor " by J.D. Salinger . Esmé is distinguished by her very tall height and her obsession with high fashion . She often wears outlandish outfits that she considers stylish. Esmé first appears in The Ersatz Elevator , as "the city's sixth most important financial advisor", when

2944-487: Is a gifted reader and had read most of the books in the Baudelaire library before it burned down. His love of reading and research skills are often useful for foiling Count Olaf's. Klaus is twelve at the beginning of the series, turned thirteen while incarcerated for a brief period of time in The Vile Village , and fourteen by the last chapter of The End . Klaus is bespectacled in the books and TV series but not in

3072-646: Is abandonment followed by fostering, as in the life of Mowgli , echoing Kipling's own childhood. In the latter years of the 19th century, precursors of the modern picture book were illustrated books of poems and short stories produced by English illustrators Randolph Caldecott , Walter Crane , and Kate Greenaway . These had a larger proportion of pictures to words than earlier books, and many of their pictures were in colour. Some British artists made their living illustrating novels and children's books, among them Arthur Rackham , Cicely Mary Barker , W. Heath Robinson , Henry J. Ford , John Leech , and George Cruikshank . In

3200-421: Is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one's sensory experiences. A corollary of this doctrine was that the mind of the child was born blank and that it was the duty of the parents to imbue the child with correct notions. Locke himself emphasized the importance of providing children with "easy pleasant books" to develop their minds rather than using force to compel them: "Children may be cozen'd into

3328-417: Is after the Baudelaire fortune. He and his acting troupe follow the children with dogged determination to obtain their inheritance and kill them. He is known for his one eyebrow, gleaming eyes, and V.F.D. insignia tattoo, shaped like an eye, on his left ankle. He was once part of the secret organization of V.F.D. (Volunteer Fire Department) before helping to instigate a schism that split its members. He joined

3456-597: Is an adaptation of the myth of Blodeuwedd from the Mabinogion , set in modern Wales – it won Garner the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association , recognising the year's best children's book by a British author. Mary Norton wrote The Borrowers (1952), featuring tiny people who borrow from humans. Dodie Smith 's The Hundred and One Dalmatians was published in 1956. Philippa Pearce 's Tom's Midnight Garden (1958) has Tom opening

3584-474: Is an epic trilogy of fantasy novels consisting of Northern Lights (1995, published as The Golden Compass in North America), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes. The three novels have won a number of awards, most notably the 2001 Whitbread Book of

3712-505: Is described as an infant through much of the series. Although Sunny cannot walk until the end of the seventh book and speaks in idiosyncratic baby talk, she repeatedly demonstrates advanced problem solving skills, motor dexterity, comprehension, moral reasoning, and intelligence. She does, however have an expansive vocabulary of non-English words that can be translated by Violet, Klaus, and, occasionally, Lemony Snicket who despite giving meanings to most of Sunny's early language, chooses to define

3840-639: Is fourteen at the beginning of the series and turns fifteen in The Grim Grotto , and is sixteen upon leaving the Island in the last chapter of The End . Being the eldest Baudelaire, she is set to inherit the Baudelaire fortune upon turning eighteen. Brett Helquist's drawings indicate she has long, dark brown hair, and though her eye color is never specified, it is implied that her eyes are a different color than Klaus, who has brown eyes. When thinking and concentrating on new inventions, Violet ties her hair in

3968-469: Is known to have been an actress, a lion-tamer and a "baticeer" (bat trainer). Lemony Snicket was in love with Beatrice and they almost got married, but Beatrice married Bertrand instead, supposedly because she believed that Lemony was dead after his obituary appeared in The Daily Punctilio newspaper. Besides this, various other hints are dispensed throughout the series as to why she called off

List of A Series of Unfortunate Events characters - Misplaced Pages Continue

4096-557: Is named. He sometimes wears fake hands on his hooks when putting on disguises. Although Fernald plays an important role in all the books as one of Olaf's henchmen, Fernald's history is only revealed in The Grim Grotto . He is the brother of Fiona and stepson of Captain Widdershins . He joined Olaf and left Captain Widdershins after burning down Anwhistle Aquatics and killing Gregor Anwhistle. In The Grim Grotto, Fiona convinces Fernald to betray Count Olaf and steal his submarine. In

4224-549: Is portrayed as an overly cautious woman who is afraid of everything, including doorknobs, radiators and realtors. She developed these fears after losing her husband, Isaac "Ike" Anwhistle , to the carnivorous Lachrymose leeches when he swam in Lake Lachrymose less than an hour after eating something. Aunt Josephine believes grammar is the greatest joy in life and has a personal library filled with books about grammar. Due to her irrational fears and obsession with grammar,

4352-459: Is revealed that Esmé was also a member of VFD and indeed had even known the Baudelaire parents. She is keenly interested in finding the mysterious sugar bowl, which causes some minor rifts between her and Olaf. Her fate after the burning of Hotel Denounement is left unclear. In the Netflix TV series, Esmé is portrayed by Lucy Punch . She is said to be the original owner of the sugar bowl which

4480-401: Is the father of Violet , Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire , the husband of Beatrice and a V.F.D. member. He trained under S. Theodora Markson, who was also Lemony Snicket 's chaperone during his early training. Markson often describes Bertrand as a model apprentice. Throughout the series, the children remember anecdotes about their father, such as him cooking at a dinner party, or splashing in

4608-432: Is the first guardian who treats the Baudelaire siblings with kindness and respect and as a result the children immediately warm up to him, despite finding him a little peculiar. The children's life with Monty is ruined when Count Olaf kills Monty's assistant, Gustav, and poses as his new assistant named Stephano. The children immediately see through Olaf's disguise and try to warn Monty, but Monty simply believes Stephano to be

4736-464: Is the first to bring the news of Bertrand and Beatrice's death to the Baudelaire children who were at Briny Beach. As executor of the Baudelaire estate, he interprets the will's instructions that the children "be raised in the most convenient way possible", meaning they should remain within the city limits, and arranges for their distant relative Count Olaf to take custody. When the Baudelaires contact Poe at Mulctuary Money Management to report Olaf's abuse,

4864-428: Is the franchise's main antagonist and one of the primary characters. His name was chosen to suggest Scandinavian origin to add confusion and ambiguity about the setting of the series. He claims to be a distant relative of the Baudelaires, either their third cousin four times removed, or their fourth cousin three times removed. Olaf is a failing actor (though he claimed to have been considered for major acting awards) and

4992-423: Is the late husband of Josephine Anwhistle and the brother of Gregor Anwhistle, making him a distant relative of the Baudelaire's mother, Beatrice Baudelaire . He was shown to have a courageous personality and had a love for grammar, like his wife. While on a picnic with his wife, Ike wanted to go swimming in Lake Lachrymose, though Josephine had warned him to wait an hour after eating, in order to avoid attracting

5120-453: Is to follow Lemony Snicket's childhood in "an organization nobody knows about". The first book has been given a first printing of one million copies and was released on October 23, 2012. The title of the first book had earlier been hinted at in a message to fansite 667 Dark Avenue, where it was apparently designated as "The First Question". The second book is titled "When Did You See Her Last?" Chapter One of Who Could That Be at This Hour?

5248-416: Is voiced by Tim Curry . In the 2017 TV series, he is portrayed by Patrick Warburton who appears as the onscreen narrator. Arthur Poe is a banker at Mulctuary Money Management in charge of the Baudelaire and Quagmire fortunes and the Baudelaire orphans' guardianship. He is distinguished by a congenital cough, purblind demeanour, and general inefficacy in caring for the Baudelaire and Quagmire children. Poe

List of A Series of Unfortunate Events characters - Misplaced Pages Continue

5376-557: The Jennings series by Anthony Buckeridge . Ruth Manning-Sanders 's first collection, A Book of Giants , retells a number of giant stories from around the world. Susan Cooper 's The Dark Is Rising is a five-volume fantasy saga set in England and Wales. Raymond Briggs ' children's picture book The Snowman (1978) has been adapted as an animation, shown every Christmas on British television. The Reverend. W. Awdry and son Christopher 's The Railway Series features Thomas

5504-420: The 2017 TV series , he is portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris . In flashbacks, it is shown that Count Olaf was engaged to Kit Snicket, his father was the chief of the city's official fire department, and his mother had died in a fire. His father was accidentally killed one night at the opera by a poison dart thrown by Beatrice Baudelaire that was meant for Esmé Squalor. As a result, he swore vengeance on Beatrice and

5632-446: The 1740s, a cluster of London publishers began to produce new books designed to instruct and delight young readers. Thomas Boreman was one. Another was Mary Cooper , whose two-volume Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744) is the first known nursery rhyme collection. But the most celebrated of these pioneers is John Newbery , whose first book for the entertainment of children was A Little Pretty Pocket-Book ." Widely considered

5760-731: The 1890s, some of the best known fairy tales from England were compiled in Joseph Jacobs ' English Fairy Tales , including Jack and the Beanstalk , Goldilocks and the Three Bears , The Three Little Pigs , Jack the Giant Killer and Tom Thumb . The Kailyard School of Scottish writers, notably J. M. Barrie , creator of Peter Pan (1904), presented an idealised version of society and brought fantasy and folklore back into fashion. In 1908, Kenneth Grahame wrote

5888-637: The 1930s he began publishing his Swallows and Amazons series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the English Lake District and the Norfolk Broads . Many of them involve sailing; fishing and camping are other common subjects. Biggles was a popular series of adventure books for young boys, about James Bigglesworth, a fictional pilot and adventurer , by W. E. Johns . Between 1941 and 1961 there were 60 issues with stories about Biggles, and in

6016-516: The 1930s. British comics in the 20th century evolved from illustrated penny dreadfuls of the Victorian era (featuring Sweeney Todd , Dick Turpin and Varney the Vampire ). First published in the 1830s, according to The Guardian , penny dreadfuls were "Britain's first taste of mass-produced popular culture for the young." Robin Hood featured in a series of penny dreadfuls in 1838 which sparked

6144-481: The 1960s occasional contributors included the BBC astronomer Patrick Moore . Between 1940 and 1947, W. E. Johns contributed sixty stories featuring the female pilot Worrals . Evoking epic themes, Richard Adams 's 1972 survival and adventure novel Watership Down follows a small group of rabbits who escape the destruction of their warren and seek to establish a new home. Geoffrey Trease and Rosemary Sutcliff brought

6272-469: The Baudelaires after Mr. Poe sees that he "let Sunny drive" after a failed attempt to get them run over by a train. He does redeem himself to Mr. Poe when he rescues the Baudelaires from the Lachrymose Leeches which leads up to his plot that involved "The Marvelous Marriage". When Count Olaf's plot is exposed, everyone in the audience converges on Count Olaf as the constable arrests him. Although

6400-596: The Baudelaires are placed in the care of the Squalors. Count Olaf appears disguised as an auctioneer named Gunther. Although the Baudelaires try to warn her, it is later revealed that she knew his true identity all along and was even assisting him in securing the Quagmire triplets. The book ends with Esmé and Count Olaf driving away together. From thereon, Esmé is a central character of the series, working closely with Count Olaf and commanding his troupe. In following books, it

6528-430: The Baudelaires have been up to since leaving the island. She begins going into how she and the Baudelaires encountered "female Finnish pirates." The episode ends before she can reveal the rest of her information. Dr. Montgomery Montgomery , also called " Uncle Monty " by the Baudelaire children, is Bertrand Baudelaire's cousin's brother-in-law and Violet , Klaus , and Sunny 's second guardian . His sole appearance in

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6656-651: The English faculty at the University of Oxford, were the "Inklings", with the major fantasy novelists C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as its main members. C. S. Lewis published the first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia series in 1950, while Tolkien is best known, in addition to The Hobbit , as the author of The Lord of the Rings (1954). Another writer of fantasy stories is Alan Garner author of Elidor (1965), and The Owl Service (1967). The latter

6784-519: The French literary society, who saw them as only fit for old people and children. In 1658, John Amos Comenius in Bohemia published the informative illustrated Orbis Pictus , for children under six learning to read. It is considered to be the first picture book produced specifically for children. The first Danish children's book was The Child's Mirror by Niels Bredal in 1568, an adaptation of

6912-497: The Goblin and its sequel The Princess and Curdie , by George MacDonald , appeared in 1872 and 1883, and the adventure stories Treasure Island and Kidnapped , both by Robert Louis Stevenson , were extremely popular in the 1880s. Rudyard Kipling 's The Jungle Book was first published in 1894, and J. M. Barrie told the story of Peter Pan in the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911. Johanna Spyri 's two-part novel Heidi

7040-597: The Great wrote allegories for children, and during her reign, Nikolai Novikov started the first juvenile magazine in Russia. The modern children's book emerged in mid-18th-century England. A growing polite middle-class and the influence of Lockean theories of childhood innocence combined to create the beginnings of childhood as a concept. In an article for the British Library , professor MO Grenby writes, "in

7168-672: The Grimm brothers also contributed to children's literature through their academic pursuits. As professors, they had a scholarly interest in the stories, striving to preserve them and their variations accurately, recording their sources. A similar project was carried out by the Norwegian scholars Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe , who collected Norwegian fairy tales and published them as Norwegian Folktales , often referred to as Asbjørnsen and Moe . By compiling these stories, they preserved Norway's literary heritage and helped create

7296-461: The Island on which the events of The End (novel) take place. They built it to be a safe haven for volunteers who were affected by the schism. Ishmael arrived soon thereafter and began questioning their decisions, eventually taking over the island and banishing the Baudelaires. The Baudelaires then moved into their mansion and the city. They had minimal contact with V.F.D. afterwards since Violet only has vague memories of them and Klaus none at all. In

7424-461: The Lachrymose Leeches. Ignoring Josephine, he only waited 45 minutes, which led to him being devoured by the Lachrymose Leeches, leaving Josephine traumatized and terrified of the lake. In the TV series, Ike is portrayed by the show's developer Barry Sonnenfeld . His picture was shown in Josephine's house in "The Wide Window". In "The Carnivorous Carnival", Ike made an appearance in a flashback at

7552-512: The Norwegian written language. Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen traveled through Europe and gathered many well-known fairy tales and created new stories in the fairy tale genre. In Switzerland , Johann David Wyss published The Swiss Family Robinson in 1812, with the aim of teaching children about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance. The book became popular across Europe after it

7680-592: The Sebald Code. In the book Who Could That Be at This Hour? , Monty is mentioned by Hector in the final chapter. In the film adaptation, Montgomery Montgomery is portrayed by Billy Connolly . He is voiced by Bob Joles in the video game and played by Aasif Mandvi in the TV series. Josephine Anwhistle , also called Aunt Josephine , is Violet , Klaus and Sunny 's second cousin's sister-in-law , and becomes their guardian in The Wide Window . She

7808-573: The Stone by T. H. White in 1938. Children's mass paperback books were first released in England in 1940 under the Puffin Books imprint, and their lower prices helped make book buying possible for children during World War II. Enid Blyton 's books have been among the world's bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular and have been translated into almost 90 languages. She wrote on

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7936-407: The TV series, Bertrand is portrayed by an unknown extra in season one and by Matthew James Dowden in season three. Beatrice Baudelaire II is the daughter of Kit Snicket, who dies after giving birth. The infant Beatrice is adopted by the Baudelaire orphans, hence the use of the surname Baudelaire. At age one, "she looks very much like her mother," according to Chapter Fourteen. The younger Beatrice

8064-607: The Tank Engine . Margery Sharp 's series The Rescuers is based on a heroic mouse organisation. The third Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo published War Horse in 1982. Dick King-Smith 's novels include The Sheep-Pig (1984). Diana Wynne Jones wrote the young adult fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle in 1986. Anne Fine 's Madame Doubtfire (1987) is based around a family with divorced parents. Anthony Horowitz 's Alex Rider series begins with Stormbreaker (2000). Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials

8192-687: The United States. Mark Twain released Tom Sawyer in 1876. In 1880 another bestseller, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings , a collection of African American folk tales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris , appeared. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a plethora of children's novels began featuring realistic, non-magical plotlines. Certain titles received international success such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883), L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables (1908), and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1869). Literature for children had developed as

8320-587: The Wrong Questions , specifically in Shouldn't You Be in School? , as an associate of Lemony Snicket . In the movie, Aunt Josephine is portrayed by Meryl Streep . In the video game adaptation, she is voiced by Donna Bullock and in the TV series she is played by Alfre Woodard . In the movie and TV series, Aunt Josephine is explicitly shown to be more courageous before Ike's death. Isaac "Ike" Anwhistle

8448-799: The Year prize, won by The Amber Spyglass . Northern Lights won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in 1995. Neil Gaiman wrote the dark fantasy novella Coraline (2002). His 2008 fantasy, The Graveyard Book , traces the story of a boy who is raised by the supernatural occupants of a graveyard. In 2001, Terry Pratchett received the Carnegie Medal (his first major award) for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents . Cressida Cowell 's How to Train Your Dragon series were published between 2003 and 2015. J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter fantasy sequence of seven novels chronicles

8576-616: The adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter . The series began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997 and ended with the seventh and final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007; becoming the best selling book-series in history . The series has been translated into 67 languages, so placing Rowling among the most translated authors in history. While Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe in 1719 (spawning so many imitations it defined

8704-675: The alphabet, vowels, consonants, double letters, and syllables before providing a religious rhyme of the alphabet, beginning "In Adam's fall We sinned all...", and continues through the alphabet. It also contained religious maxims, acronyms , spelling help and other educational items, all decorated by woodcuts . In 1634, the Pentamerone from Italy became the first major published collection of European folk tales. Charles Perrault began recording fairy tales in France, publishing his first collection in 1697. They were not well received among

8832-455: The banker points out that Olaf is acting in loco parentis , and can raise them as he sees fit. However, when Olaf traps Sunny in a birdcage and attempts to force Violet to marry him during the play while exposing his plot, Poe invokes citizen's arrest just prior to Count Olaf's escape. Since then, Arthur Poe tries to find a suitable guardian to watch over the kids although is often quite unhelpful. The Baudelaires are unable to contact him after

8960-487: The beginning of the mass circulation of Robin stories. All the Wrong Questions All the Wrong Questions is a four-part children's book series and prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (the pen name of American author Daniel Handler ). The series explores Snicket's childhood apprenticeship to the secret society V.F.D and expands the fictional universe introduced in

9088-407: The biographer of the Baudelaires, so this particular article could not have been published until after Beatrice's death, which puts a damper on the idea that she read that particular article. She could, of course, have believed a completely different article about him (perhaps one accusing him of crimes he did not commit—Snicket makes frequent references to such articles and false information), sent him

9216-504: The body of his children's books." Professor Grenby writes, "Newbery has become known as the 'father of children's literature' chiefly because he was able to show that publishing children's books could be a commercial success." The improvement in the quality of books for children and the diversity of topics he published helped make Newbery the leading producer of children's books in his time. He published his own books as well as those by authors such as Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith ;

9344-1000: The body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young people. The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of world literature , picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children, and fairy tales , lullabies , fables , folk songs , and other primarily orally transmitted materials or more specifically defined as fiction , non-fiction , poetry , or drama intended for and used by children and young people. One writer on children's literature defines it as "all books written for children, excluding works such as comic books , joke books, cartoon books , and non-fiction works that are not intended to be read from front to back, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference materials". However, others would argue that children's comics should also be included: "Children's Literature studies has traditionally treated comics fitfully and superficially despite

9472-552: The book and the letter, then later when she had married Bertrand, discovered the truth and also believed him (for a time at least) to be dead for some reason—though again, it could not be the obituary that appears in the Daily Punctilio that convinces her of this, as that must appear after her death. When Kit Snicket nears death, she informs the Baudelaire children that "their families have always been close, even if they had to stay apart from one another". Bertrand Baudelaire

9600-568: The booklets as well. Johanna Bradley says, in From Chapbooks to Plum Cake , that chapbooks kept imaginative stories from being lost to readers under the strict Puritan influence of the time. Hornbooks also appeared in England during this time, teaching children basic information such as the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer . These were brought from England to the American colonies in

9728-647: The books is in The Reptile Room where he is introduced as a world-renowned herpetologist . In the TV series, Monty appears once again during a flashback scene in The Carnivorous Carnival: Part 1. Uncle Monty is described as a "fat, short, chubby man with a round red face". He discovered and named the Incredibly Deadly Viper, deliberately misnaming the otherwise gentle animal to prank his colleagues. Uncle Monty

9856-536: The books progress, Sunny grows out of infancy and develops a love for cooking. Lemony Snicket is the pen name of the American author Daniel Handler . Lemony is the in-universe author and narrator of the book series chronicling the lives of the Baudelaire children. Over the course of the series, it is revealed that Lemony has two other siblings, Jacques and Kit Snicket. All three siblings were inducted into V.F.D. at an early age and some of Lemony's childhood work for

9984-483: The cave and convince Aunt Josephine to come back to talk to Mr. Poe . As they are leaving, however, they are caught by Hurricane Hermann and Lachrymose leeches and are ultimately rescued by Olaf. Olaf almost lets Josephine go but pushes her overboard after she corrects his grammar. It is implied that she was eaten by the leeches just like her husband. Like many of the Baudelaire's other guardians, Josephine also appears in All

10112-533: The children struggle to fully acclimate with her. Count Olaf woos her disguised as a sea captain named Captain Sham. He later reveals himself to Josephine and forces her into writing a suicide note that leaves the children in his care. Aunt Josephine hides a message in her note in the form of grammatical mistakes. Klaus is able to decode the message which reveals Josephine is hiding in Curdled Cave. The children go

10240-769: The children's classic The Wind in the Willows and the Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell 's first book, Scouting for Boys , was published. Inspiration for Frances Hodgson Burnett 's novel The Secret Garden (1910) was the Great Maytham Hall Garden in Kent. While fighting in the trenches for the British Army in World War I, Hugh Lofting created the character of Doctor Dolittle , who appears in

10368-490: The concept of childhood , that a separate genre of children's literature began to emerge, with its own divisions, expectations, and canon . The earliest of these books were educational books, books on conduct, and simple ABCs—often decorated with animals, plants, and anthropomorphic letters. In 1962, French historian Philippe Ariès argues in his book Centuries of Childhood that the modern concept of childhood only emerged in recent times. He explains that children were in

10496-457: The concept of childhood began to emerge in Europe. Adults saw children as separate beings, innocent and in need of protection and training by the adults around them. The English philosopher John Locke developed his theory of the tabula rasa in his 1690 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding . In Locke's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that the (human) mind is at birth a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data

10624-527: The content (the weird adventures of a young girl in a fantasy land), but also the origin of the tales as both are dedicated and given to a daughter of the author's friends. The shift to a modern genre of children's literature occurred in the mid-19th century; didacticism of a previous age began to make way for more humorous, child-oriented books, more attuned to the child's imagination. The availability of children's literature greatly increased as well, as paper and printing became widely available and affordable,

10752-437: The creation of a number of nineteenth-century fantasy and fairy tales for children which featured magic objects and talking animals. Another influence on this shift in attitudes came from Puritanism , which stressed the importance of individual salvation. Puritans were concerned with the spiritual welfare of their children, and there was a large growth in the publication of "good godly books" aimed squarely at children. Some of

10880-474: The eighteenth century, and songs, part of a wider oral tradition , which adults shared with children before publishing existed. The development of early children's literature, before printing was invented, is difficult to trace. Even after printing became widespread, many classic "children's" tales were originally created for adults and later adapted for a younger audience. Since the fifteenth century much literature has been aimed specifically at children, often with

11008-523: The entire V.F.D. After some time wandering underground, Count Olaf was taken in as a student of the Man with a Beard But No Hair and the Woman with Hair But No Beard. The Baudelaire siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, are the main protagonists and three of the primary characters of the series. They are all described as "intelligent, charming, resourceful, and [having] pleasant facial features". The series begins with

11136-417: The events of The Vile Village however Poe is one of the few people to maintain the Baudelaires' innocence. In the 2004 film, Arthur Poe is portrayed by Timothy Spall . In the video game adaptation, he is voiced by Daniel Hagen and in the 2017 TV series, he is portrayed by K. Todd Freeman . Beatrice Baudelaire was the wife of Bertrand Baudelaire and the mother of Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. She

11264-400: The film adaptation. He has black hair and brown eyes. Herman Melville is one of his favorite authors. He particularly enjoys "the way Melville dramatizes the plight of overlooked people, such as poor sailors or youngster, through his strange, often experimental philosophical prose", which sums up the theme of the series . Sunny Baudelaire is the youngest of the three Baudelaire orphans and

11392-481: The fire-starting side of the organization and was known to have committed a wide assortment of arsons , among numerous other crimes, in his thirst to destroy the organization and gain revenge over his former comrades. In the 2004 film and its video game adaptation, Olaf was portrayed by Jim Carrey with additional dialogue being provided by Robin Atkin Downes . Unlike in the books, Count Olaf loses custody of

11520-460: The first "English masterpiece written for children" and as a founding book in the development of fantasy literature, its publication opened the "First Golden Age" of children's literature in Britain and Europe that continued until the early 1900s. The fairy-tale absurdity of Wonderland has solid historical ground as a satire of the serious problems of the Victorian era. Lewis Carroll is ironic about

11648-405: The first modern children's book, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book was the first children's publication aimed at giving enjoyment to children, containing a mixture of rhymes, picture stories and games for pleasure. Newbery believed that play was a better enticement to children's good behavior than physical discipline, and the child was to record his or her behaviour daily. The book was child–sized with

11776-467: The garden door at night and entering into a different age. William Golding 's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies focuses on a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves. Roald Dahl wrote children's fantasy novels which were often inspired from experiences from his childhood, with often unexpected endings, and unsentimental, dark humour. Dahl

11904-546: The history of European children's literature was largely written in Germany." The Brothers Grimm preserved and published the traditional tales told in Germany . They were so popular in their home country that modern, realistic children's literature began to be looked down on there. This dislike of non-traditional stories continued there until the beginning of the next century. In addition to their collection of stories,

12032-417: The importance of comics as a global phenomenon associated with children". The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature notes that "the boundaries of genre... are not fixed but blurred". Sometimes, no agreement can be reached about whether a given work is best categorized as literature for adults or children. Some works defy easy categorization. J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series

12160-420: The judge decrees that Count Olaf be made to suffer every hardship he inflicted on the children before serving a life sentence, Count Olaf vanishes after a jury of his peers overturns his sentence. Count Olaf escapes in the video game adaptation when the lights go out, while in a deleted scene of the film has him lifted by his acting troupe with a rope where he flees and swears he'll have the Baudelaire fortune. In

12288-413: The late sixteenth century. An early example is ABC-Book , an alphabet book published by Ivan Fyodorov in 1571. The first picture book published in Russia, Karion Istomin 's The Illustrated Primer , appeared in 1694. Peter the Great 's interest in modernizing his country through Westernization helped Western children's literature dominate the field through the eighteenth century. Catherine

12416-755: The latter may have written The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes , Newbery's most popular book. Another philosopher who influenced the development of children's literature was Jean-Jacques Rousseau , who argued that children should be allowed to develop naturally and joyously. His idea of appealing to a children's natural interests took hold among writers for children. Popular examples included Thomas Day 's The History of Sandford and Merton , four volumes that embody Rousseau's theories. Furthermore, Maria and Richard Lovell Edgeworth 's Practical Education : The History of Harry and Lucy (1780) urged children to teach themselves. Rousseau's ideas also had great influence in Germany, especially on German Philanthropism ,

12544-444: The marriage. Since then, there have been many theories about it. According to Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography , Snicket was at one point mistakenly reported by the notoriously inaccurate Daily Punctilio as dead. In The Grim Grotto , Lemony makes reference to Captain Widdershins's having convinced Beatrice that a story in a newspaper was true, which could be the report of his death. The other evidence for her belief

12672-522: The mid-seventeenth century. The first such book was a catechism for children, written in verse by the Puritan John Cotton . Known as Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes , it was published in 1646, appearing both in England and Boston . Another early book, The New England Primer , was in print by 1691 and used in schools for 100 years. The primer begins with "The young Infant's or Child's morning Prayer" and evening prayer. It then shows

12800-535: The most popular works were by James Janeway , but the most enduring book from this movement, still read today, especially in modernised versions, is The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) by John Bunyan . Chapbooks , pocket-sized pamphlets that were often folded instead of being stitched, were published in Britain; illustrated by woodblock printing , these inexpensive booklets reprinted popular ballads , historical re-tellings, and folk tales. Though not specifically published for children at this time, young people enjoyed

12928-472: The movie, Fernald is portrayed by Jamie Harris and is voiced by Jay Gordon . Usman Ally plays him in the TV series. In the TV series, Fernald is depicted as relatively mild-mannered, when compared with the rest of the crew, and even develops a close relationship with Sunny Baudelaire . Children%27s literature Children's literature can be traced to traditional stories like fairy tales , which have only been identified as children's literature since

13056-414: The murderous Count Olaf , and their discoveries of a connection of between both their late parents and Olaf and a secret organization called V.F.D. The author himself is also a character, playing a major role in the plot. Although the series is given no distinct location, other real people appear in the narrative, including the series' illustrator, Brett Helquist , and Daniel Handler himself. Count Olaf

13184-592: The novel The Bad Beginning , the first of thirteen installments in the A Series of Unfortunate Events books. Handler signed with Egmont Publishing (UK) in August 2009 and Little, Brown and Company (U.S.) in November 2009 to begin working on the series. Although the author switched from his former publisher, HarperCollins , to Little, Brown and Company, he continued to work with his longtime editor Susan Rich. The first book, Who Could That Be at This Hour? ,

13312-410: The opening of Children's Literature: A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter , says, "This book presents a history of what children have heard and read.... The history I write of is a history of reception ." Early children's literature consisted of spoken stories, songs, and poems, used to educate, instruct, and entertain children. It was only in the eighteenth century, with the development of

13440-475: The organization is described in the series All the Wrong Questions . For Beatrice-- My love for you shall live forever. You, however, did not. – Lemony Snicket, Dedication in The Reptile Room Over the course of the series, it is also revealed Lemony was in love with and even engaged to the Baudelaires' mother, Beatrice Baudelaire. Their relationship came to an end when Lemony

13568-521: The past not considered as greatly different from adults and were not given significantly different treatment. As evidence for this position, he notes that, apart from instructional and didactic texts for children written by clerics like the Venerable Bede and Ælfric of Eynsham , there was a lack of any genuine literature aimed specifically at children before the 18th century. Other scholars have qualified this viewpoint by noting that there

13696-410: The population grew and literacy rates improved. Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes appeared in 1857, and is considered to be the founding book in the school story tradition. However, it was Lewis Carroll 's fantasy, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , published in 1865 in England, that signaled the change in writing style for children to an imaginative and empathetic one. Regarded as

13824-435: The prim and all-out regulated life of the "golden" Victorian century. One other noteworthy publication was Mark Twain 's book Tom Sawyer (1876), which was one of the first "boy books", intended for children but enjoyed by both children and adults alike. These were classified as such for the themes they contained, consisting of fighting and work. Another important book of that decade was The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for

13952-474: The production of adventure fiction for boys. This inspired writers who normally catered to adult audiences to write for children, a notable example being Robert Louis Stevenson 's classic pirate story Treasure Island (1883). In the years after the First World War, writers such as Arthur Ransome developed the adventure genre by setting the adventure in Britain rather than distant countries. In

14080-468: The series, but it's not a continuation." Asked about his progress with the series in January 2010, Handler stated that he was "at the point that it's a twinkle in someone else's eye." He told The Scotsman that the series was "still kind of fetal", and that he would be writing it in 2010. The Times reported he is playing with a plot and title. The only hint to the story's plot provided by Handler

14208-609: The series. The series will have some overlap with his previous series, A Series of Unfortunate Events , but will not involve some of its protagonists, the Baudelaire orphans . Daniel Handler , the author behind the Snicket pen name , clarified that the series "is mostly an entirely new story. But if you are a close reader of the series you will see some overlap. There will be something for people who are hungry for that sort of thing." He reiterated: "It does have some overlap with

14336-438: The series: the lack of clear division between 'good' and 'evil'. Snicket also explores this theme in All the Wrong Questions . The name Baudelaire was taken from the French poet Charles Baudelaire . One of his most famous works, Les Fleurs du mal , discusses finding beauty in otherwise grim circumstances. The names of the Baudelaire siblings themselves were taken from a variety of backgrounds to add confusion and ambiguity about

14464-427: The setting of the series. Violet was chosen because it sounded British, while Klaus and Sunny sounded German and American, respectively. The Baudelaire siblings all have fast-acting peppermint allergies. Daniel Handler has confirmed that the Baudelaires are Jewish, but whether they are ethnically and/or religiously Jewish is not stated. Klaus and Sunny's name may have been inspired by the real story of Claus von Bülow ,

14592-399: The siblings finding out their parents have died in a house fire and then proceeds to follow their tumultuous lives as they go from guardian to guardian with Count Olaf at their heels, attempting to get his hands on their fortune. Over the course of the series, the Baudelaire siblings are forced to perform immoral acts, such as lying, stealing and arson, demonstrating one of the central themes of

14720-542: The story of Lemony's sister Kit as she completes a similar mission for V.F.D. Lemony's main mission is to protect a statue called the Bombinating Beast from various people who desire it, including Hangfire. In August 2009, it was announced that Egmont Publishing had purchased the rights to a new series by Snicket. By November 2009, Little, Brown and Company had purchased the North American rights to

14848-454: The words as "meaning something like" rather than meaning an exact word or phrase. According to The Miserable Mill , one of her favourite words is "Aha!". By the last chapter of The End , she is speaking in full sentences. Sunny is frequently noted for strength of her teeth. While Violet and Klaus often use their respective talents of inventing and reading to solve their problems, Sunny is required on multiple occasions to use her sharp teeth. As

14976-452: Was a literature designed to convey the values, attitudes, and information necessary for children within their cultures, such as the Play of Daniel from the twelfth century. Pre-modern children's literature, therefore, tended to be of a didactic and moralistic nature, with the purpose of conveying conduct -related, educational and religious lessons. During the seventeenth century,

15104-423: Was falsely accused of murder and arson, forcing Lemony to eventually fake his death. Nevertheless, he always loved Beatrice and, after learning of her death, dedicated his life to documenting the lives of her children. In the 2004 film, Lemony Snicket is voiced by Jude Law ; he is shown in silhouette writing the story on a typewriter inside a clock tower. In the video game adaptation and the multi-cast audiobook, he

15232-1015: Was inspired to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), featuring the eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka , having grown up near two chocolate makers in England who often tried to steal trade secrets by sending spies into the other's factory. His other works include James and the Giant Peach (1961), Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970), The BFG (1982), The Witches (1983), and Matilda (1988). Starting in 1958, Michael Bond published more than twenty humorous stories about Paddington Bear . Boarding schools in literature are centred on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, and are most commonly set in English boarding schools . Popular school stories from this period include Ronald Searle 's comic St Trinian's (1949–1953) and his illustrations for Geoffrey Willans 's Molesworth series, Jill Murphy 's The Worst Witch , and

15360-522: Was named after the Baudelaires' mother Beatrice , at Kit's request and in keeping with the tradition of naming children after deceased friends. In The Beatrice Letters , which is set ten years after the main series, she is the second Beatrice Baudelaire. She is searching for her uncle Lemony Snicket and for the Baudelaire orphans, who have apparently disappeared. She follows her uncle and writes him six letters. However, he constantly refuses to see her and actively runs from her. She writes that she attends

15488-584: Was published in Switzerland in 1880 and 1881. In the US, children's publishing entered a period of growth after the American Civil War in 1865. Boys' book writer Oliver Optic published over 100 books. In 1868, the "epoch-making" Little Women , the fictionalized autobiography of Louisa May Alcott , was published. This " coming of age " story established the genre of realistic family books in

15616-491: Was published on Entertainment Weekly ' s website on June 1, and, three days later, on Guardian.co.uk , including the first chapter illustration. Subsequently, further chapter illustrations and the second chapter were made available to the 667 Dark Avenue fansite as thanks for a birthday gift to Daniel Handler. The first two chapters were also made available in promotional attache cases distributed at BookExpo America . The two chapters were also later made available on

15744-451: Was released on October 23, 2012. The second book, When Did You See Her Last? , was released on October 15, 2013. The third book, Shouldn't You Be in School? , was released on September 30, 2014. The fourth and final book, Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights? , was released on September 29, 2015. A companion novel, File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents , was released on April 1, 2014. The four-book series revolves around

15872-550: Was stolen from her by Lemony Snicket and Beatrice Baudelaire. It is revealed in The Penultimate Peril Pt. 2 that she was in fact friends with Beatrice and Lemony, but that they stole the sugar bowl from her, resulting in her fixation upon it. Fernald , commonly known as the Hook-Handed Man , is an assistant of Count Olaf who has hooks instead of hands. He is one of the few members of the troupe who

16000-506: Was that she had planned to name Violet 'Lemony' had she been a boy, in accordance with the family custom of naming a child after a dead friend. We can assume that Beatrice at one time believed that Snicket was dead. When Lemony was revealed to be alive, she had already married Bertrand and she could not marry him. However, in The Beatrice Letters , the reader is told that Beatrice returned Lemony's engagement ring and sent him

16128-457: Was that the series will "approach that question mark from a different angle". In October 2010, Snicket elaborated: I'm doing research for a new series for older children that is about more experiences from my own life; it takes place at a time before the Baudelaire children were born. On February 8, 2012, the name of the series was revealed, All the Wrong Questions , along with the first book's title, Who Could That Be at This Hour? . The series

16256-503: Was translated into French by Isabelle de Montolieu . E. T. A. Hoffmann 's tale " The Nutcracker and the Mouse King " was published in 1816 in a German collection of stories for children, Kinder-Märchen . It is the first modern short story to introduce bizarre, odd and grotesque elements in children's literature and thereby anticipates Lewis Carroll's tale, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . There are not only parallels concerning

16384-410: Was written and marketed for children, but it is also popular among adults. The series' extreme popularity led The New York Times to create a separate bestseller list for children's books. Despite the widespread association of children's literature with picture books, spoken narratives existed before printing , and the root of many children's tales go back to ancient storytellers. Seth Lerer , in

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