The Bag Beginning is the first book of the series. It was later released in paperback with the name The Bad Beginning; or, Orphans! The story tells the story of three children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, who are orphaned by a horrendous fire and are sent to live with their distant cousin Count Olaf. The book begins with a dedication to a Beatrice, who Snicket describes as "darling, dearest, dead". The author then provides a explanation of why the book should not be read, before describing the series's main characters. Violet Baudelaire, a 14-year old amateur inventor; Klaus Baudelaire, a 12-year old who loves to read, and Sunny Baudelaire, an infant with unusually powerful teeth. The Baudelaire kids, parents banker, Arthur Poe, arrives to inform them that their mother and father have both died in a fire which has destroyed their mansion and all of their possessions. The Baudelaire children have been orphaned. Their parents have been killed in a fire in their mansion. The series began in the book "The Bad Beginning." Violet, Klaus, and Sunny's parents died leaving them to be orphans. The parents where killed by a fire. The Baudelaire children were sent to live with their distant cousin, Count Olaf. The fire had destroyed the mansion and pretty much everything inside of it. The children learn that Olaf has only accepted their guardianship under the mistaken belief that he will receive their inheritance which, has been set aside until Violet turns 18. When Olaf learns that he will not receive the Baudelaire fortune, he immediately drops all friendliness toward the children.Olaf is sinister, and unhygienic; he has a tattoo of the glaring eye on his left ankle and a humongous uni-brow. children soon learn that Olaf has only accepted them under the mistaken thought that he will receive their inheritance,which, has been set aside until Violet turns 18. Olaf is mean, and unhygienic; he has a tattoo of the glaring eye on his left ankle and has a uni-brow. When Olaf learns that he will not receive the Baudelaire fortune, he drops friendliness toward the children. Count Olaf then leaves a huge list of chores for the kids to do. One day, he tells them to make dinner fore him and his troupe. The troupe includes a man with hooks for hands, a bald man with a long nose, two women with white-powdered faces, and one who is so obese as to resemble neither a man nor a woman. When the Troupe comes over, Olaf tells them his scheme to get the Baudelaire fortune. Olaf becomes outraged when he learns the children have not prepared roast beef. When Klaus protests, Olaf slaps him and grabs Sunny, but calms down and allows the children to serve the puttanesca. The next day, Olaf informs the children, to their dis-agreement, that they will be performing with his theater troupe in their upcoming production The Marvelous Marriage. When the children are convinced that the performance is a scheme to steal their fortune, Klaus spends the day researching inheritance law in Justice Strauss's(their neighbor a lawyer) personal library. His research is interrupted by the hook-handed man, who takes him back to Olaf's house. Klaus manages to grab a book on marriage law before he is taken away. During the night he discovers that a 14-year-old may get married with guardian consent, and Klaus quickly realizes that Olaf plans to legally marry Violet in The Marvelous Marriage (the play) in front of a judge! The next morning Klaus heads out early to confront Olaf with the evidence; Count Olaf then confirms Klaus's theory and tells him that Sunny has been kidnapped on his and is being hung in a birdcage from the tower study window, to be dropped the moment he or his sister does not comply. That day Violet attempts to visit Sunny, but finds the door to the tower guarded by the associate who looks like neither a man nor a woman. During the night she builds a grappling hook to climb the tower. When she reaches the top, however, she is met by the hook-handed man, who locks her in the room of the tower and brings Klaus to join her. Together the three children wait out the night in anticipation of the Marvelous Marriage performance. Justice Strauss plays the judge, and Violet plays the role of the bride. Klaus is given a role with no lines, while Sunny remains locked in the birdcage under the hook-handed man's supervision. Every attempt the children make to speak to Strauss or Mr. Poe (who has come to see the performance) is interrupted by Olaf. When the time comes for Violet to sign the wedding contract, she makes a final effort to put a stop to the marriage by signing the document with her left hand rather than her right. (The law required the document to be signed in the bride's "own hand".) As soon as the contract has been signed, Olaf announces that the performance is over, and that Violet is now legally his wife. Violet then informs Strauss that she has signed the document with the wrong hand, and the judge agrees that this is not in compliance with the law. Olaf orders the hook-handed man to drop their sister, but Sunny and the assistant have already arrived onstage. Olaf's getaway car is only found when the police arrive. Justice Strauss then wants to take in the Baudelaire's but, Mr.Poe says that, the parents will says they must be taken in by a relative.