Anyone on the lookout for their next big readventure can think of a few episodes of analysis paralysis in a bookshop. With so many book lovers who are lured into a store by the shiny new titles only to discover that they don’t quite match their expectations, it’s easy to see why some readers tend to judge a book by its opening line. After all, no amount of blurb can compete with the authenticity and intrigue of the first few sentences. Here is the list of our favourite opening lines that make these books so irresistible.
Contents
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader' by C.S. Lewis
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- Back When We Were Grown ups by Anne Tyler
- The Restaurant at The End of The Universe by Douglas Adams
- The Portrait of The Lady by Henry James
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
- Scaramouche by Raphael Sabatini
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’ by C.S. Lewis
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Back When We Were Grown ups by Anne Tyler
The Restaurant at The End of The Universe by Douglas Adams
The Portrait of The Lady by Henry James
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Scaramouche by Raphael Sabatini
Stella
Stella is a Marketing Consultant and has been writing content for Full Text Archive since 2015. When she is not writing, she is meticulously planning our social and e-mail campaigns. Stella holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Russian Literature, which has provided a broad foundation from which she continues to explore the written world.
She spends her free time reading, visiting old castles and discovering new coffee shops. She can be reached at stella