A world for children, a world of allusion : an analysis of the allusions within A series of unfortunate events

Children's literature is often a genre that is considered to be too simple or too juvenile for serious scholarly consideration. This genre, typically associated with teaching children basic morals or cultural values, is one that adults do not often venture to read. This does not mean that all of children's literature does not contain elements that make them appropriate for both children and adult readers. In this thesis, I examine Daniel Handler's A Series of Unfortunate Events and the way in which Handler utilizes allusions specifically in a way that mimics the very stage of childhood. Handler creates a series that is intended for a child audience but its clever use of the literary archive deems it also enjoyable by adult readers.