of A Series of Unfortunate Events but misery and despair.

You still have time to choose another international best-seller to read.

But if you must know what unpleasantries befall the charming and clever Baudelaire children read on...There are many pleasant things to read about, but The Miserable Mill contains none of them.

Within its pages one will find a giant pincher machine, a bad casserole, a man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, a hypnotist, a terrible accident and coupons.

With 5 million copies sold in the UK alone, one might consider Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events to make him one of the most successful children's authors of the past decade.

We, however, consider these miserable so-called adventure stories and the Hollywood film starring Jim Carrey that accompanied the books for children as nothing more than a dreadful mistake.