A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of 13 children's novels by Lemony Snicket (the pen name of American author Daniel Handler) which follows the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents' death in a fire. The children are placed in the custody of their relative Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance. After Olaf's plan to steal the Baudelaires' fortune fails, Olaf begins to doggedly hunt the children down, bringing about the death of several characters. As the series progresses, the Baudelaires discover more and more about a mysterious organization known as V.F.D.