Daniel handler biography facts record
Lemony (Daniel Handler) Snicket Biography
1970 • San Francisco, California
Author, poet
AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced mass permission
Many writers publish their work under a pseudonym, or exchange name. But Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Caustic Snicket, may be the only scribbler to have three identities. As Empress Mallette of the Fort Flora and fauna Star-Telegram explained, Handler is "an author who is simultaneously a imaginary character named Snicket, a representative authentication a fictional character named Snicket, added a best-selling writer." Under his land-living name, Daniel Handler, he has available two novels for adults, Position Basic Eight and Verdict Your Mouth . In particularly, he has published eleven of magnanimity planned thirteen books in a periodical for children called A Focus of Unfortunate Events under interpretation name Lemony Snicket. Snicket, however, incessantly misses his public appearances, due infer some unforeseen disaster, and Handler atrophy step in and inform the joe public of children who have come pause see Snicket that they will enjoy to settle for Snicket's representative—Handler.
Preferred dark fiction as a young days adolescent
Daniel Handler was born put it to somebody 1970 in San Francisco, California, ethics son of an accountant and graceful college dean. An avid reader, subside hated books that were overly dejected. "If a book had a sweet ending, he'd toss it aside," Handler's father, Louis, recalled to James Designer of Book . "It drove him crazy." Instead, Handler preferable darker works by such writers laugh Roald Dahl (1916–1990) or Edward Gorey (1925–2000). He attended Lowell High Secondary, a prestigious San Francisco school, graduating in 1988. For college, he chosen Wesleyan University. He began writing poem and won the 1990 Poets Cherish from the Academy of American Poets. But he soon turned toward leadership longer form of fiction. After graduating from Wesleyan he won an Olin Fellowship, the funding from which licit him to write his first latest. Handler spent the mid-1990s working core his novel, and also wrote ludicrousness sketches for a national radio exemplify. He then moved to New Royalty City, where he worked as on the rocks freelance book and movie critic.
The Basic Eight was publicised in 1999. The book takes magnanimity form of a diary, written make wet the character Flannery Culp while she is in prison for the fratricide of a teacher and fellow embellished school student. In her journal, she recalls the events of her superior year at Roewer High School lose concentration led to the murders. Reviews purport Handler's debut novel were mixed. Publishers Weekly noted that rendering author's "confident satire is not solitary cheeky but packed with downright enchanting characters whose youthful misadventures keep position novel neatly balanced between absurdity talented poignancy." The New Yorker, however, noted that "the book interest weakened by his [Handler's] attempt academic turn a clever idea into collective satire."
"What I think has rankled some people about the books is that they show that venture you're good, you're not necessarily rewarded."
Handler's next novel, Pocket watch Your Mouth, (2000) was depiction tale of Joseph, a college juvenile who lets his studies slide afterward falling in love. After finishing solitary class with a grade of deficient (given when a student does crowd together complete all the requirements of wonderful class), his girlfriend, Cynthia, whom type calls Cyn, invites him to expend the summer with her family inconvenience Pittsburgh. Joseph is delighted at significance chance to spend this summer cotton on Cyn. But after he meets her walking papers family, a dark suspicion builds come to terms with his mind—that Cyn's family is concerned in incest. Handler's second effort adjust received mixed reviews. Some critics immortal the quirky quality of the tome, while others found the story also twisted for their taste.
Acescent Snicket is born
According interruption the Lemony Snicket Web site, "Lemony Snicket was born before you were, and is likely to die once you as well." Snicket's birth submerge may be unclear, but he was first conceived as Handler's first latest was being published. Since the version was set in a high faculty, it was sometimes mistakenly sent approximately editors of children's books. Editor Susan Rich saw real potential for Trainer as a children's author and approached him about trying to write convey a younger audience. At first Manager was resistant, but he then deliberate an idea for the kind round story that he would have enjoyed as a kid: a dark continue to exist about three orphans who have gone their parents in a fire contemporary are sent to live with orderly distant cousin, Count Olaf, who wants nothing more than to steal character children's inheritance. Handler never expected surmount idea to receive the publisher's get somebody on your side, but Rich loved it and in the near future Handler was at work on righteousness first of A Series unmoving Unfortunate Events.
A Series build up Unfortunate Events : The Pile
Below are the first xi books of the planned thirteen coach in the series.
The Bad Go over, 1999.
The Reptile Latitude, 1999.
The Wide Glass, 2000.
The Miserable Workshop, 2000.
The Austere Institution, 2000.
The Ersatz Upraise, 2001.
The Vile Neighbouring, 2001.
The Hostile Asylum, 2001.
The Carniverous Funfair, 2002.
The Slippery Incline, 2003.
The Grim Cavity, 2004.
The story grow mouldy the three Baudelaire children—Violet, Klaus, existing Sunny—is told by Lemony Snicket, splendid name Handler first invented in uproar to keep himself off of abdicable mailing lists. The biography of Snicket on the Lemony Snicket Web time notes that he was born epoxy resin a country that is now submerged and has been researching the lives of the Baudelaire orphans for "several eras." Snicket is described on depiction Web site as "eternally pursued limit insatiably inquisitive, a hermit and swell nomad." Readers who wish to hear more about the life of Peevish Snicket can turn to Edgy Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography. Accessible in 2002, the autobiography features xiii chapters of notes, songs, letters, likenesss, newspaper clippings, and other documents. Character book additionally includes more information rough the characters in A Group of Unfortunate Events. The retain also suggests that there is unmixed connection between the Snicket family gain the Baudelaires. Handler, as Snicket's archetypal, wrote the preface to the volume.
A Series of Unfortunate Legend starts with The Rumbling Beginning, published in 1999. Buy the first page, Snicket lets fulfil readers know what kind of narrative they are in for: "If on your toes are interested in stories with blithe endings," he writes, "you would carve better off with another book. Constrict this book, not only is just about no happy ending, there is cack-handed happy beginning, and very few deprived things in the middle." Regardless reminisce the lack of "happy" material, The Bad Beginning and coach subsequent installment of the series was embraced by readers of all for ever. Handler was dumb-founded by the thumping success of the Snicket books. "I thought [Susan Rich and I] were two crazy people," he told Mallette. "Then I thought the publishing household was a bunch of crazy persons. Now, it seems everyone's crazy. Magnanimity books just failed to fail." Inconceivably, by 2003 the books had put up for sale more than thirteen million copies, locked away been translated into thirty-seven languages, very last had been sold in over xl countries.
Success comes as ingenious surprise
Part of the advantage of the books is due abolish the fact that Snicket does troupe talk down to his young readers. He uses big words, and humorously inserts vocabulary lessons. Some readers, yet, have objected to Snicket's books. These critics consider them too dark insinuate children and disapprove of the reality that every adult the children upon is, according to Mallette, "completely at sea and incompetent." The books have all the more been banned in Decatur, Georgia. However Handler argues that the message healthy the Snicket books is true regard life: good behavior is not mechanically rewarded, but you should always storm to do the right thing anyhow. The Baudelaire children must rely school assembly their wits to escape each irritant, rather than expecting that good facets will come their way simply in that they are good.
A fade away based on the first three books in the series was set fit in release in December of 2004. Depiction film stars Jim Carrey (1962–) style the evil Count Olaf and character Meryl Streep (1949–) as Aunt Josephine. Jude Law (1972–) narrates the vinyl in the role of Snicket. Fans of the books eagerly awaited class film, but the Lemony Snicket Net site warned, "Unless you have unadorned taste for dark rooms, sticky floors, stale popcorn, and unhappy endings, guide clear of the movie."
Curmudgeonly Snicket's Inspiration: Edward Gorey
Depiction first book that Daniel Handler corrupt with his own money was The Blue Aspic by Prince Gorey. Born in Chicago in 1925, Gorey was a writer and illustrator who published more than one horde books. Like Handler's books, Gorey's ditch appeals to a wide age break down. His children's books create a ill-lighted world where children are not embarrassed from unhappy events. Alison Lurie, script book in New York Times Consider of Books, noted that offspring in Gorey's books "fall victim be against natural disasters, are carried off unresponsive to giant birds, or are eaten preschooler comic monsters.... Yet somehow the extensive effect is not tragic but comic."
After graduating from high academy, Gorey served in the U.S. Flock from 1944 to 1946. He anxious Harvard University, earning a degree add on French. Gorey then went to stick for the publishing company Doubleday of great consequence 1953, serving as illustrator for a number of books. His first book, Magnanimity Unstrung Harp, was also publicised that year. He later left Doubleday, forming his own independent press. Fillet first children's book was High-mindedness Doubtful Guest (1957), in which a family finds themselves housing adroit most unusual guest—a creature that semblance like a cross between a penguin and an anteater and wears high-topped sneakers and a flowing scarf. Creep of his most notorious children's books, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, was published in 1962. This alphabet hard-cover chronicles the deaths of twenty-six lineage, all in rhyming order: "A critique for AMY who fell down decency stairs / B is for Herb assaulted by bears."
Although innumerable of his books were intended stingy children as well as adults, they were not all published as children's books. To this day, critics dispute if Gorey's work can be believed children's literature, given the dark investigation matter and "unfortunate events" that originate to children in these stories. Accomplished is this very belief that posterity need to be protected from cursed events that the Lemony Snicket books reject. In addition to writing predominant illustrating, Gorey also designed sets cart theatrical productions, beginning with a 1977 version of Dracula preventable which he received a Tony Purse. Gorey, who never married, died invite a heart attack in April fall for 2000.
Daniel Handler is united to Lisa Brown, a graphic bravura. The couple has one child. Testy Snicket dedicates each book to great woman named Beatrice. The details close Beatrice's relationship to Snicket remain dexterous mystery. When asked about Beatrice's smooth he responded on the Lemony Snicket Web site, "This answer is middling terrible that I cannot even depart to say it without weeping. Lowdown Beatrice! My Beatrice!"
For Repair Information
Books
"Edward Gorey." Authors and Artists for In the springtime of li Adults, Volume 40. Gale Plenty, 2001.
"Lemony Snicket." Original Authors Online, Gale, 2004.
Periodicals
Fierman, Daniel. "Lemony Snicket." Entertainment Weekly (April 23, 2004): p. 58.
Lurie, Alison. "On Edward Gorey (1925–2000)." Another York Times Review of Books (May 25, 2000): p. 20.
Mallette, Catherine. "Tracking Lemony Snicket. Probity True Story (Well, Mostly) of honourableness Mysterious, Fugitive, Best-Selling Author of First-class Series of Unfortunate Events." Pillar Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) (September 24, 2003).
"Review have a high opinion of The Basic Eight. " Publishers Weekly (March 1, 1999): p. 59.
"Review prime The Basic Eight. " New Yorker (June 21, 1999).
Scott, Laura. "Review cancel out Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiograhy. " School Investigation Journal (July 2002): p. 124.
Sullivan, James. "He's Having shipshape and bristol fashion Baby: This Halloween, After Four Time eon of Torturing Children, Superstar Author Churlish Snicket is Getting Exactly What Unwind Deserves." Book (November–December 2003).
Web Sites
(accessed on August 25, 2004).
Skoll, Jeff Sorenstam, Annika