How was Lemony during the time of publishing books 1-3?

[Optimism is my Phil-osophy]

This question is very important to understand the ASOUE chronology. Some fans believe that because these books were the initials and that Daniel Handler had not decided what the story was going to be about, some claims by Lemony Snicket should be completely ignored. However, when you associate this information with other facts that can be deduced through LSTUA and TBL, you may come to the conclusion that Daniel Handler did not disregard what he had written in the initial books as to where LS was when he wrote the final version of these books, just before publishing these books. To recap my theory, Lemony Snicket started writing TBB and TRR during the time of the main events recorded in ASOUE. He tried to publish at that time, but failed. At that time, many believed that Lemony Snicket was dead, like Sally Sebald and Kit Snicket. Finally, Lemony reached the island where the Baudelaires stayed, (they had already left). Lemony found the island book, and then proceeded to do his research based on the information contained in the island book, as the Baudelaires themselves had written their story from their point of view. Lemony reviewed what he had already written about the Baudelaires, and then he managed to publish TBB for the first time. (TBB would only be republished in TBB: The Rare Edition many years after the original publication of TBB). Then he reviewed what he had already written about the Baudelaires' stay at Uncle Monty's house, and published TRR for the first and only time. I believe that Daniel Handler thought in greater detail on this subject while he was writing LSTUA.

But since TBB, Daniel Handler had a mental picture of how Lemony was doing at the time of the book's publication.

Note this excerpt:

TBB chapter 11:

In my room, for instance, I have gathered a collection of objects that are important to me, including a dusty accordion on which I can play a few sad songs, a large bundle of notes on the activities of the Baudelaire orphans, and a blurry photograph, taken a very long time ago, of a woman whose name is Beatrice.

What was the mental vision that Daniel Handler had at this moment for Lemony Snicket? It was certainly from a man who had been researching the Baudelaires for a long time. He gathered a lot of information about the Baudelaires before he finally managed to publish TBB. He managed to gather various information written in his own room and from time to time he played songs on the musical instrument that he loved so much. This idea was confirmed in the notes written in TBB the Rare Edition, showing that even after many books were published, Daniel Handler had not changed his mind for the scene he viewed in TBB for under what circumstances the final version was made and then published. At this time in Lemony Snicket's life, he had a room of his own, and nothing indicates that he was a fugitive. This is different from the time when Lemony Snicket republished TBB, the Rare Edition. According to Lemony's words in the introduction of the notes, he often needed to use artifice to escape inconvenient questions, and sometimes an escape driver was on standby, waiting for Lemony Snicket's sudden arrival in the car.

Now let's look at the letter printed at the end of TBB.

To My Kind Editor;

I am writing to you from the London branch of the Herpetological Society, where I am trying to find outwhat happened to the reptile collection of Dr. Montgomery Montgomery following the tragic events that occurred while the Baudelaire orphans were in his care.
An associate of mine will place a small waterproof box in the phone booth of the Elektra Hotel at11 P.M. next Tuesday. Please retrieve it before Midnight to avoid it falling into the wrong hands. In thebox you will find my description of these terrible events, entitled THE REPTILE ROOM, as well as amap of Lousy Lane, a copy of the film Zombies in the Snow., and Dr. Montgomery's recipe for coconutcream cake. I have also managed to track down one of the few photographs of Dr. Lucafont, In order tohelp Mr. Helquist with his illustrations.
Remember, you are my last hope that the tales of the Baudelaire orphans can finally be told to thegeneral public.

What was the mental image that Daniel Handler had when writing this letter about Lemony Snicket's circumstances? Evidently Lemony was in England, and he had already written most of original of the book TRR. Lemony was researching what had happened to the reptiles after they were taken away by members of the herpetological society.
In writing about current editors being the last hope of publishing history, we have here confirmation that Daniel Handler imagined the situation in which Lemony Snicket had tried to publish his Baudelaire books in different ways, but he had not succeeded. This all gives the impression that Lemony Snicket managed to publish the Baudelaires' story for the first time in a few years after the main events had passed.
In our universe, Daniel Handler wrote TBB and TRR practically together, so that he already knew the end of the TRR story, so he was able to write this letter in a manner consistent with the end of the story. When Daniel Handler wrote LSTUA, he reused many of the ideas he had used here. He took advantage of some empty spaces, so to speak, to create a story about VFD, which at the time of the publication (in our universe) of TBB and TRR should at most be an idea in Daniel Handler's subconscious. But considering that Daniel Handler wrote TBB and TRR practically together, what mental image about Lemony Snicket's circumstances did he have when writing TRR?

TRR chapter 4:

For years after this moment in the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, Klaus thought of the time when he and his siblings realized that Stephano was actually Count Olaf, and was filled with regret that he didn't call out to the driver of the taxi cab who was beginning to drive back down the drive way.

TRR chapter 3:

I am very, very sorry to leave you hanging like that, but as I was writing the tale of the Baudelaire orphans, I happened to look at the clock and realized I was running late for a formal dinner party given by a friend of mine, Madame diLustro.

These two scenes show that Daniel Handler's mental image of Lemony when he was writing TBB and TRR was again that of a researcher and writer who had a high level of freedom. He could attend formal dinners, and then quietly return to writing about the Baudelaires. The story he was writing had happened a few years earlier. And according to the letter to the editor, after writing this, he still traveled to England. (I think there is no doubt that ASOUE's main story takes place in North America).

But can we say that Lemony was living quietly in his apartment at this time? Most likely he was, according to TWW.

TWW chapter 5:

I wish now that I had the power to go back in time and speak to these three sobbing children. If I could, I could tell the Baudelaires that like earthquakes and puppet shows, their tears were occurring not only without warning but without good reason. The youngsters were crying, of course, because they thought Aunt Josephine was dead, and I wish I had the power to go back and tell them that they were wrong. But of course, I cannot. I am not on top of the hill, overlooking Lake Lachrymose , on that gloomy morning. I am sitting in my room, in the middle of the night, writing down this story and looking out my window at the graveyard behind my home.

Lemony wrote that at this time of writing, he was in his room, which as we saw is at his home. Nothing seems to indicate that Lemony was being pursued until the publication of TWW was completed.

Note Lemony's description in the book TRR:

Lemony Snicket was born in a small town where the inhabitants were suspicious and prone to riot.
He now lives in the city. During his spare time he gathers evidence and is considered some thing of an expert by leading authorities.These are his first books for HarperCollins.

This is evidence that at that time Lemony actually lived in the City, the same city as the Baudeaires, where he had a home and a room where he wrote about the Baudelaires.

Now look at the letter to the editor, printed in TRR:

To My Kind Editor, I am writing to you from the shores of Lake Lachrymose, where I am examining there mains of Aunt Josephine's house in order to completely understande very thing that happened when the Baudelaire orphans found themselves here.

Again, after writing most of the TWW book, Lemony decided to visit the place where the events took place. He finished the book there at Lake Lachrymose, and sent the original to the editor.

The conclusion is that Daniel Handler had a very clear mental picture for the circumstances in which Lemony Snicket was living at the time of the publication of books 1 - 3: he was a writer who was not being pursued by the authorities. He was not a fugitive. He wrote most of the books in his own room. But Lemony's peaceful situation would change in the following books.

[Dante]

I agree with your conclusion, Jean Lucio. It is reasonably clear that the "fugitive" interpretation of Lemony only came along later; if that can be incorporated consistently into the metanarrative, so much the better. I suspect that the decision to make Lemony a fugitive from justice probably arose naturally from the formulation of the overarching plotline of V.F.D., or maybe Handler just wanted Lemony's life to sound more interesting; it might anticipate the Baudelaires becoming fugitives, too.

This thread also reminds me, incidentally, that TBB's accompanying Gothic Archies song "Scream and Run Away" was originally described as being by "the Baudelaire Memorial Orchestra"; which Baudelaire or Baudelaires is up to your imagination, though I'm sure you see how important it is.