Editing Daniel Handler (section)

==Life==
Handler was born in [[San Francisco, California]], the son of Sandra Handler (née Walpole), a retired [[City College of San Francisco]] dean, and Louis Handler, an accountant.<ref name=beweeweht>{{Cite news|title=Lemony Snicket |publisher=The Wee Web |year=2011 |url=http://www.theweeweb.co.uk/public/author_profile.php?id=497 |access-date=January 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927210151/http://www.theweeweb.co.uk/public/author_profile.php?id=497 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref> His father was a [[Jewish]] refugee from [[Third Reich|Germany]] in 1939. His mother is distantly related to British writer [[Hugh Walpole]].<ref name=emrkoweeht>{{Cite news|last=Salamon|first=Julie|work=The New York Times|date=September 23, 2004|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/23/movies/23hand.html|access-date=January 24, 2011|title=Lemony Snicket's Down and Dirty Indie}}</ref><ref name=higi>{{Cite news|last=Westbrook|first=Caroline|title=Daniel Handler interview|publisher=SomethingJewish|date=June 5, 2006|url=http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/1914_daniel_handler_inter.htm|access-date=January 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411021444/http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/1914_daniel_handler_inter.htm|archive-date=April 11, 2012}}</ref> Of his early religious upbringing, Handler said, "I had a fairly standard [[Reform Judaism|Reform Jewish]] upbringing, I guess, in terms of the religious side of it."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Weiss|first=Josh|date=2017-02-15|title=S.F. author Lemony Snicket's 'Jewish story' on Netflix|url=https://www.jweekly.com/2017/02/15/s-f-author-lemony-snickets-jewish-story-on-netflix/|access-date=2020-12-18|website=J.|language=en-US}}</ref> He has a younger sister, Rebecca Handler. He attended Commodore Sloat Elementary, [[Herbert Hoover Middle School (San Francisco)|Herbert Hoover Middle School]], and [[Lowell High School (San Francisco)|Lowell High School]]. He graduated from [[Wesleyan University]] in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sparks|first1=Karen|title=Daniel Handler|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/760909/Daniel-Handler|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=11 May 2015}}</ref> He was awarded the 1992 Connecticut Student Poet Prize, which he has said he won by ripping off [[Elizabeth Bishop]].<ref>"[http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/detail/69629 Happy, Snappy, Sappy]" by Daniel Handler</ref> He is an alumnus of the [[San Francisco Boys Chorus]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=McMahon |first=Regan |date=November 3, 2012 |orig-date=November 3, 2012 |title=Author 'Snicket's' fortunate career |url=https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Author-Snicket-s-fortunate-career-4006528.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104093638/https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Author-Snicket-s-fortunate-career-4006528.php |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |access-date=August 1, 2024 |website=The San Francisco Gate |language=English}}</ref>

Handler has been a voracious reader since childhood. The first book he bought as a child was ''The Blue Aspic'' by [[Edward Gorey]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Daniel Handler: By the Book|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/books/review/daniel-handler-by-the-book.html|website=New York Times|date=January 22, 2015|access-date=May 21, 2022}}</ref> of whom he is a fan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Wild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature|author1=Betsy Bird|author2=Julie Danielson|author3=Peter Sieruta|publisher=Candlewick Press|date=Aug 5, 2014|page=42|language=en}}</ref> He enjoyed the writings of [[William Keepers Maxwell, Jr.|William Maxwell]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Daniel Handler: By the Book|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/books/review/daniel-handler-by-the-book.html|access-date=11 May 2015|work=New York Times|date=22 January 2015}}</ref> and [[Roald Dahl]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Man Behind Lemony Snicket Talks About Writing For Kids And His Childhood Fears |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/01/13/509587895/the-man-behind-lemony-snicket-talks-about-writing-for-kids-and-his-childhood-fea |access-date=2022-08-15}}</ref>

He is married to [[Lisa Brown (artist)|Lisa Brown]], an illustrator he met in college.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-20-la-ca-conversation-20100620-story.html|title=The Sunday Conversation: With Daniel Handler|date=2010-06-20|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/01/13/509587895/the-man-behind-lemony-snicket-talks-about-writing-for-kids-and-his-childhood-fea|title=The Man Behind Lemony Snicket Talks About Writing For Kids And His Childhood Fears|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> They have a child, born in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2012/10/22/daniel-handler-new-snicket-book/1639595/|title=Daniel Handler's new Snicket series dives into noir|last=della Cava|first=Marco R.|website=USA Today|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> They live in an [[Edwardian architecture|Edwardian]] house in San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/lemony-snickets-melodramatic-attic-hideaway-1501599297|title=Lemony Snicket's Melodramatic Attic Hideaway|date=2017-08-01|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2020-03-18|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

Handler has expressed ambivalence about his wealth and the expectations it creates. He often donates money to charitable causes.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Handler|first=Daniel|work=The New York Times Magazine|title=Adjusted Income|date=June 10, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/magazine/10lives-t.html|access-date=August 15, 2014}}</ref> Handler and his wife have also donated $1,000,000 to Planned Parenthood,<ref>{{cite news |last=White |first=Daniel |date= 20 November 2014 |title=Lemony Snicket Pledges $1M to Planned Parenthood |url=https://time.com/4054889/planned-parenthood-lemony-snicket/ |newspaper=[[TIME]] |location=[[United States]] |access-date=27 April 2018 }}</ref> and he has supported the [[Occupy Wall Street]] movement.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/lemony-snicket-mtv-help-explain-occupy-wall-street-to-kids/2011/10/18/gIQApTLTuL_blog.html|title=Lemony Snicket, MTV help explain Occupy Wall Street to kids|last=Flock|first=Elizabeth|date=2011-10-18|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2011/1019/Lemony-Snicket-releases-Thirteen-Observations-on-Occupy-Wall-Street|title=Lemony Snicket releases "Thirteen Observations on Occupy Wall Street"|date=2011-10-19|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=2020-03-18|issn=0882-7729}}</ref>

Handler describes himself as a [[Secular humanism|secular humanist]] and an atheist.<ref>{{cite news|first=Todd|last=Leopold| url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/books/10/05/handler.snicket/index.html | work=[[CNN]] | title=Lemony Snicket reaches 'The End' |date=October 5, 2006 | access-date=April 30, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Olasky |first1=Marvin |author-link=Marvin Olasky |title=Autumn of a book-lover's contentment |url=https://wng.org/articles/autumn-of-a-book-lovers-contentment-1617337051 |website=[[World (magazine)|World]] |access-date=6 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506214855/https://wng.org/articles/autumn-of-a-book-lovers-contentment-1617337051 |archive-date=6 May 2025 |date=7 October 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> He describes himself as having developed a "feminist consciousness" while in college.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Howell|first=Simmone|date=2017-11-30|title=Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, on writing teen sex and his inner girl voice|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/daniel-handler-aka-lemony-snicket-on-writing-teen-sex-and-his-inner-girl-voice-20171130-gzwczz.html|access-date=2020-12-18|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref>