What's the Bad Beginning Rare edition? Did it came out recently? Does it differ from the first print a lot?
It’s a limited re-edition of the first book with bonus material which came out in 2003. It’s sadly out of print nowadays though dedicated fans can still buy second-hand copies on some corners on the Internet. Some online retailers also sell rare brand-new copies at higher prices. The Snicket Sleuth (yours truly) found his on Amazon some five years ago.
“The Bad Beginning: Rare Edition” differs from the first edition in two ways:
Different packaging: the cover is made up of eyes on a green field.
A supplementary chapter containing Lemnoy’s additional notes on the events of the book.
Please note that there’s about a gazillon different re-editions of “The Bad Beginning” made by the publishers, so do be careful when buying one: the “Rare Edition” is the only one which has this supplementary chapter. It’s also available in Kindle format, thankfully.
For the poorest amongst us, the supplementary chapter can also be read in its entirety at 667 Dark Avenue (Link).
EDIT: The supplementary chapter has also been integrated into Egmont’s Modern Classics Edition of “The Bad Beginning” !
