There's something magical and elusive about a wonderful first line. It's in those first few words that you draw a reader in or else inspire them to put the book down and get something to eat instead. The first line is the first impression, and it's true what they say; you don't get a second chance for a first impression.
That being said, how well do you know your first lines? Let's find out! Below are first lines from famous stories. See if you can match the line with the story (listed below the lines).
The First Lines
1) "Call me Ishmael."
2) "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
3) "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
4) "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
5) "May 3. Bistritz.-- Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late."
6) "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
7) "TRUE! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?"
8) "It was a pleasure to burn."
9) "The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten."
10) "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." (All one sentence. How great is that?)
The Stories
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Dracula
Moby Dick
Fahrenheit 451
A Tale of Two Cities
1984
Pride and Prejudice
Paul Clifford
Anna Karenina
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Answers
Highlight below to reveal the text and see how well you did.
1) Moby Dick
2) 1984
3) Anna Karenina
4) Paul Clifford
5) Dracula
6) Pride and Prejudice
7) The Tell-Tale Heart
8) Fahrenheit 451
9) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
10) A Tale of Two Cities
The First Lines
1) "Call me Ishmael."
2) "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
3) "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
4) "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."
5) "May 3. Bistritz.-- Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late."
6) "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
7) "TRUE! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?"
8) "It was a pleasure to burn."
9) "The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten."
10) "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." (All one sentence. How great is that?)
The Stories
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Dracula
Moby Dick
Fahrenheit 451
A Tale of Two Cities
1984
Pride and Prejudice
Paul Clifford
Anna Karenina
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Answers
Highlight below to reveal the text and see how well you did.
1) Moby Dick
2) 1984
3) Anna Karenina
4) Paul Clifford
5) Dracula
6) Pride and Prejudice
7) The Tell-Tale Heart
8) Fahrenheit 451
9) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
10) A Tale of Two Cities