The Bad Beginning
by Lemony Snicket
★ Top 5 book of 1999 · #5 on Best Books of 1999
After their parents die suddenly, the three Baudelaire children have only each other and their wits to rely on. Their newly appointed guardian, a distant relative, will stop at nothing to get hold of their fortune.
Best for: Readers who like stories of orphaned siblings relying on cleverness against a scheming guardian
The Bad Beginning is #5 on BookWard's Best Books of 1999, out of 52 1999 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Bad Beginning is about
The Baudelaire children are sitting on Briny Beach when the banker Mr. Poe tells them their parents have died in a fire that destroyed the family home. Violet, fourteen and a gifted inventor, Klaus, twelve and devoted to books, and baby Sunny, who has four sharp teeth and a habit of using them, are sent to live with a distant relative none of them has heard of: Count Olaf.
Olaf's house is filthy, decorated with eyes, and has a tower the children must stay out of. He is bad-tempered, and he is clearly interested in the family fortune. Their only comfort is a kind neighbor, Justice Strauss. When Olaf pulls them into a theatrical scheme, the three must rely on cleverness and on one another.
The tone is wry and gloomy in a funny way, with a narrator who warns readers off happiness. Good for young readers who like dark comedy, and for adults who do too.
The Bad Beginning on the Best Books of 1999
The Bad Beginning came out in 1999. Of the 52 books first published in 1999 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #5 on our Best Books of 1999 list.
Why it made the list: 1,013 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (94 ratings); 54 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Being read right now.
Nearby on the 1999 list
- Wings of Fire A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, #3
- On Writing Stephen King, #4
- The Coldest Winter Ever Sister Souljah, #6
- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Robin S. Sharma, #7
See all Best Books of 1999 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1998 Best Books of 2000.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 799 want to read it, 54 are reading it now and 160 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 from 94 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 87 | 55% |
| Reader love | 88 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 90 | 20% |
Questions about The Bad Beginning
When was The Bad Beginning published?
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket was first published in 1999.
Was The Bad Beginning one of the best books of 1999?
The Bad Beginning is #5 on BookWard's Best Books of 1999, out of 52 1999 books that cleared our data bar. 1,013 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (94 ratings); 54 are reading it right now.
Why is The Bad Beginning on the Best Books of 1999 list?
1,013 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (94 ratings); 54 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 1999
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J. K. Rowling, #1
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky, #2
- Wings of Fire A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, #3
- On Writing Stephen King, #4
- The Coldest Winter Ever Sister Souljah, #6
- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Robin S. Sharma, #7
See the full Best Books of 1999, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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