Friday's Top Ten
The unofficial top ten first lines of novels:
10. It was a dark and stormy night.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
9. I am an invisible man.
Ralph Ellison
8. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
George Orwell
7. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....
Charles Dickens
6. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Leo Tolstoy
10. It was a dark and stormy night.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
9. I am an invisible man.
Ralph Ellison
8. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
George Orwell
7. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....
Charles Dickens
6. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Leo Tolstoy
5. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
4.It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Jane Austen
3. Call me Ishmael.
Herman Melville
2. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
JK Rowling
And the unofficial #1 first line of a novel:
And the unofficial #1 first line of a novel:
1. The sun didn't shine, it was too wet to play, so we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day.
Dr. Seuss
Comments
I always liked the first line of A Christmas Carol. "Marley was dead, to begin with." Grisly start and it breaks a grammar rule right out of the gate.
Yvonne.
Hope you have a great weekend ahead, Carol! :)
Alex - Poor Marley :)
Yvonne - Ah, yes. I recall that line!
JoLynne - I'm not a huge fan of Jane Austen, but I do love that opening line.
Linda K - Mostly I can't remember the lines, but when I read them elsewhere, I do recall them. And sometimes which book/author they belong to.
Julie - I find that line chilling, too.
I spend days trying to figure out a line that good for my stories but never come close...
Hope you're not having comment troubles like I (still) am. ;)
Pat - I always try for a great opening line, too. I'm never satisfied with the results.
Slamdunk - Good old Dickens!
LR - Sorry to hear you're still having woes. I kept getting a Blogger error message - and it's my own blog - LOL.
Laura - LOVE Dr. Seuss :)
Clarissa - I'm guessing The Invisible Man one?
Liza - Ah, I have been to your blog. And I am going to look for her work.
Emily - Cool! If I had a prize, you'd win :)
J.L. - Jane enjoyed being different :)
Hope you have a great weekend. :)
Golden Eagle - The one and only, LOL!
I really like the photo at the top of your blog-will have to click in every now and again so can picture I'm there! You have three of my favourites in your top 10-Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and George Orwell. Brilliant opening lines. The Jane Austen one is particularly clever in the way it sums up the whole plot I think.
Julie - Yea! Great lines can be for kids, too :)
Ciara - I think they're so good because all encapsulate the essence of the entire story.
Have a great week.