The author, Lemony Snicket, is a great author and really mysterious and I haven't been able to find anything out about him because he's obviously being chased by evil forces unknown and I would hate to draw attention to his continued existence. Luckily he managed to talk Tim Curry (sigh... those who know me will understand that, anyone else... go buy it. Now.) into doing the audio books before having to scurry back to a Very Safe Place.
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Okay, if you really want to know....
Lemony Snicket is a pseudonym, a word which here, means "Not the real name of the author" for Daniel Handler. Under his real name, he has written two novels I'm aware of, "Basic Eight" and "Watch Your Mouth." Neither are really kid fare, you'll have to find them on your own becuase I realize kids may read this page and to them I say- They're novels for grown-ups.
Mr Handler has a good story about coming up with the nom de plume, which he uses to write a departure from his usual gritty fare.
As for Beatrice, well, she is his darling, his dearest, and dead. I'm sure it will all come out eventually, in the meantime, enjoy the books for what they are- a great read and an unfolding mystery.