Box Sets

HarperCollins:

1. The Trouble Begins

Publication date: October 2, 2001

"A Box of Unfortunate Events: The Trouble Begins. A collection contained in a box, including The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window."

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2. The Situation Worsens

Publication date: October 1, 2002

"A Box of Unfortunate Events: The Situation Worsens. A similar box containing The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, and The Ersatz Elevator."

Box set comes with a cardstock doorknob hanger. One side reads, "Attention burglars: This is a linen closet, not a bedroom"; the other side reads, "Secrets often lie behind closed doors".

3. The Dilemma Deepens

Publication date: September 23, 2003

"A Box of Unfortunate Events: The Dilemma Deepens. Yet one more box, in which can be found The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, and The Carnivorous Carnival."

Box set comes with an iron-on transfer with the V.F.D. logo.

4. The Bad Beginning Rare Edition

Publication date: September 23, 2003 (1st ed.); December 12, 2017 (2nd ed.)

A new version of The Bad Beginning with:

    • tan slipcase depicting the original cover illustration
    • redesigned book covers with green eye-patterned paper
    • one chapter of Author's Notes, containing some extra clues about the V.F.D. backstory, at the end of the book
    • stand-up cardboard portrait of the Marvelous Marriage cast, illustrated specially for the edition by Brett Helquist

Later reissued as a December 2017 Barnes & Noble exclusive in a blue slipcase without the Marvelous Marriage portrait.

5. The Trouble Begins, Movie Tie-in Edition

Publication date: November 1, 2004

Redesigned slipcase with movie stills and a Dear Reader letter from Count Olaf. Contains books 1-3 and comes with a lenticular printed card of Jim Carrey as Count Olaf.

6. The Ominous Omnibus

Publication date: March 29, 2005

Compilation of books 1-3 in a single volume. The cover boards depict Olaf in silhouette (artwork later reused for The Notorious Notations). The dust jacket is reversible: its exterior contains a movie promotional image and its interior contains a poster summarizing the series, with a checklist to indicate for each book whether you "read it and wept" or "dropped it and ran".

Alarming Content:

    1. Another fire. The first appearance of a certain villain.
    2. The first appearance of a suspicious beast. An overlooked code.
    3. An overlooked waiter. A discovered code.
    4. The first appearance of a certain optimist. A nonaccidental accident.
    5. One motto. Two kidnappings. Three initials.
    6. An overlooked waiter. A hidden passageway.
    7. An unexpected sibling. The seventh appearance of a certain villain.
    8. A discovered file. An overlooked file.
    9. One kidnapping. The ninth appearance of a suspicious beast.
    10. Two hidden passageways. An unexpected sibling. Countless kidnappings.
    11. Countless unexpected siblings. The return of a certain optimist.
    12. The return of unexpected codes. Countless overlooked kidnappings. The first disappearance of the author.

7. The Loathsome Library

Publication date: September 27, 2005

Contains books 1-6. Wraparound box artwork depicts Count Olaf and his troupe eating pasta puttanesca.

Digitally-stitched version of the Loathsome Library box artwork:

8. The Gloom Looms

Publication date: October 18, 2005

Contains The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, and The Penultimate Peril.

9. The Horrendous Heap

Publication date: October 18, 2005

Box set consists of The Trouble Begins + The Situation Worsens + The Dilemma Deepens + The Gloom Looms. Comes with a sheet of stickers (same as the sheet included in The Blank Book), a doorknob hanger (same as the hanger included in The Situation Worsens), an iron-on transfer (same as the iron-on included in The Dilemma Deepens), and a Marvelous Marriage portrait (same as the portrait included in The Bad Beginning Rare Edition).

"Experience Snicket in the worst way possible: from the very beginning. Here are twelve books contained in four boxes in one terrible shipment - complete with four unfortunate gifts. The first twelve books in Snicket's disturbing serial are slipcased in four handsome boxes that will take readers from the very bad beginning of this upsetting story right through to the calamitous conclusion of the second-to-last book. The Horrendous Heap also contains four gifts, more upsetting than an itchy sweater in an unflattering color, including:

    • A full-color print of one of Brett Helquist's most worrying illustrations, suitable for framing or burying in the backyard.
    • A door-hanger, designed to keep unfortunate events out of any room with a door.
    • A full page of black-and-white stickers, fit for sticking wherever unfortunate events arise.
    • An iron-on, which can render any piece of clothing a part of the uniform of a secret organization.

Please be warned. This offering is a great deal of misfortune. Lemony Snicket advises against the reading, framing, hanging, sticking, or wearing of unfortunate events. In fact, you might be better off ordering a less horrendous heap, if you prefer that sort of thing."

10. The Complete Wreck

Publication date: October 13, 2006

Contains books 1-13. Some copies also included a 10x14-inch poster of the Marvelous Marriage portrait (from The Bad Beginning Rare Edition). Box artwork depicts Count Olaf's various disguises and the Baudelaires in the arboretum.

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11. Netflix Tie-in Box Set: Season 1

Publication date: October 24, 2017

Contains books 1-4 with new, redesigned covers; each cover has posed photographs of the Netflix characters and shortened Dear Reader letters.

12. Netflix Tie-in Box Set: Season 2

Publication date: June 12, 2018

Contains books 5-9 with new, redesigned covers; each cover has posed photographs of the Netflix characters and shortened Dear Reader letters.


No box set was released for the Netflix tie-in editions of books 10-13.

Egmont:

1. The Bad Beginning Limited Edition

Publication date: October 28, 2003

A new version of The Bad Beginning with:

    • slipcase
    • leather binding with the Egmont Bad Beginning cover illustration
    • bookplate signed by Daniel Handler as the "official representative of Lemony Snicket"
    • three color plates depicting full-color versions of the original Bad Beginning frontispiece, center, and final illustrations
    • two color plates, illustrated specially for the edition by Brett Helquist, depicting Count Olaf's raspberry breakfast and the Baudelaires in a library (artwork later reused for The Puzzling Puzzles 2006 cover)

A second version called The Bad Beginning Collector's Edition was published three weeks earlier at a cheaper price point; this version lacked the signed bookplate, slipcase, and leather binding, but included the color plates and a beveled window in the front cover.

2. A Box of Unfortunate Events

Contains books 1-4.

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3. A Series of Unfortunate Events

Contains books 1-10.

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4. The Complete Wreck (Egmont version)

Contains books 1-13. Box artwork depicts Count Olaf's various disguises and the Baudelaires in the arboretum.

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5. W.H. Smith omnibuses

Two omnibuses that each compiled three books into a single volume. Each came with a brown wrap band. W.H. Smith exclusive.

    1. Consists of The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window
    2. Consists of The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, and The Ersatz Elevator
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6. Movie tie-in omnibus

Published in 2004. Compilation of books 1-3 in a single volume. The cover depicts a movie still of the Baudelaires arriving at Count Olaf's house.

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