![\"Charles](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751816172_455_960x0.jpg\")
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British novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) sat in his study in Gads Hill near Rochester, Kent … More circa 1860. He wrote one of the best first lines in literature.<\/p>\n
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Great opening lines to books set the tone for what\u2019s to come. Whether the beginning broaches a central issue in the book, creates the mood for the remainder of the novel, or introduces a character who will drive the action, the best first sentence of a book can make or break the reading experience. When readers feel intrigued by the start, they are much more likely to stick with a book. Plus, the best opening line of a book also establishes the narrator and suggests the perspective that will be presented going forward. This list of famous opening lines to books contains famous authors<\/a> whose greatest gifts are on display.<\/p>\n Memorable First Lines In Literature<\/p>\n A good opening sentence usually tees up a story or a mood, or it tells a universal truth. People need to be hooked from the first line, or they may not continue with the book. If a book takes too long to make a point or begins with something unimportant, the reader loses interest.<\/p>\n Well-known authors who have mastered the exceptional opening line include many of the greatest writers in literature, including Jane Austen, Toni Morrison, Sylvia Plath and Charles Dickens. These rankings are based on the quality of the writing, the reputation of the opening sentence within literary criticism, the enduring popularity of these classic novels<\/a>, and how well the line sets up the novel.<\/p>\n 15. \u201cIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.\u201d\u2014Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)<\/p>\n Jane Austen<\/a>\u2019s classic novel concerning the roundabout courtship of the stubborn Elizabeth by the equally stubborn Mr. Darcy is nicely introduced by a truism about 19th-century marriage. Austen goes on to flout many rules of the era, but ultimately she unites her star-crossed lovers in accordance with tradition\u2014thus proving that universal truth.<\/p>\n This book is best for romance novel fans. Jane Austen\u2019s Pride and Prejudice is available from publisher Penguin Random House<\/a>.<\/p>\n 14. \u201cI write this sitting in the kitchen sink.\u201d\u2014I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1948)<\/p>\n Cassandra Mortmain introduces herself to readers with an unexpected confession that establishes three things\u2014she is small enough to still fit in a sink, she is unconventional and she is fearless. This coming-of-age tale about a teenage wannabe writer navigating an increasingly tumultuous home life maintains its fresh, unique point of view throughout.<\/p>\n This book is best for those who enjoy quirky perspectives. Dodie Smith\u2019s I Capture the Castle is available from publisher Macmillan<\/a>.<\/p>\n 13. \u201cMany years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buend\u00eda was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.\u201d\u2014One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez (1967)<\/p>\n The opening line of this epic Latin American classic brilliantly uses foreshadowing to introduce the book\u2019s main character. Referencing childhood softens the colonel\u2019s military title, but looking ahead to his possible death suggests a chasm between childhood wonder and regret. The book spins the story of the Buend\u00edas spanning generations and examines themes of isolation.<\/p>\n This book is best for those who enjoy magical realism<\/a>. Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez\u2019s One Hundred Years of Solitude is available from publisher HarperCollins<\/a>.<\/p>\n 12. \u201cThey shoot the white girl first.\u201d\u2014Paradise by Toni Morrison (1997)<\/p>\n Truly, any of Morrison\u2019s books<\/a> could make this list, but Paradise is particularly intriguing. Referring to \u201cthe\u201d white girl makes it clear everyone else is a different race\u2014so why was she there and who else gets shot? The story of a small Black town facing white invaders answers those questions and more.<\/p>\n This book is best for those looking for nuanced books about race. Toni Morrison\u2019s Paradise is available from publisher Penguin Random House<\/a>.<\/p>\n 11. \u201cHappy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.\u201d\u2014Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1878)<\/p>\n Talk about a universal truth. No matter what the reader\u2019s native tongue, they can understand the Russian author\u2019s point. Tolstoy weaves a narrative about an affair that could have been pure soap opera but instead explores the social mores of the 19th century while also examining the push and pull of societal norms and desires.<\/p>\n This book is best for anyone who wants a heavy read with historical heft. Leo Tolstoy\u2019s Anna Karenina is available from publisher Penguin Random House<\/a>.<\/p>\n Actress Alicia Vikander attends the premiere of the movie version of “Anna Karenina” at Florence … More Gould Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012 in New York City. The novel has one of the greatest opening lines of a book.<\/p>\n 2012 Invision Most authors are coy when introducing an unreliable narrator. Not Vonnegut\u2014he informs the reader right off the bat that some of what is told may be misleading or even untrue. Narrator Billy Pilgrim, a soldier, struggles after witnessing horrors during the war that threaten his relationship to time.<\/p>\n This book is best for anyone open to a strong anti-war message. Kurt Vonnegut<\/a>\u2019s Slaughterhouse-Five is available from publisher Penguin Random House<\/a>.<\/p>\n 9. \u201cAs Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.\u201d\u2014Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915)<\/p>\n This may be the best-ever example of laying out a novella\u2019s central conceit in one succinct sentence. Gregor has turned into an insect overnight, and of course, anyone who reads this wants to know why. The rest of Metamorphosis explains how he got there and whether he can return to human form.<\/p>\n This book is best for those who enjoy books about transformations (physical and\/or metaphorical). Franz Kafka<\/a>\u2019s Metamorphosis is available from Simon & Schuster<\/a>.<\/p>\n 8. \u201cIt was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.\u201d\u2014Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)<\/p>\n The dichotomy between the first half of this opening sentence\u2014just a brisk spring day\u2014and the second part\u2014the equivalent of pigs flying\u2014forms a brilliant opener to Orwell\u2019s dystopian novel. Clearly, all is not right in this future where The Party controls everything, and one ordinary man dares to push back.<\/p>\n This book is best for anyone who\u2019s ever wondered where the phrase \u201cBig Brother is watching\u201d comes from. George Orwell\u2019s Nineteen Eighty-Four is available from publisher Simon & Schuster<\/a>.<\/p>\n 7. \u201cShips at a distance have every man’s wish on board.\u201d\u2014Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)<\/p>\n Neale Hurston\u2019s writing style is pure poetry, and this opener captures the romance of the unknown. When you can\u2019t touch something, it always carries the promise of being exactly what you want; but no \u201cship\u201d grants everyone\u2019s wish. This treatise on gender and race inequality follows Janie as she falls in love with Tea Cake.<\/p>\n This book is best for those who want to read a Harlem Renaissance classic. Zora Neale Hurston\u2019s Their Eyes Were Watching God is available from publisher HarperCollins<\/a>.<\/p>\n 6. \u201cWe were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.\u201d\u2014Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (1971)<\/p>\n If the title wasn\u2019t enough to warn the reader, the first line tips it\u2014this is not a book for the faint of heart. The narrator is going on two trips, one from the drugs, one to the edge of the desert, and neither seems well-planned. The book follows the journalist\u2019s epic journeys.<\/p>\n This book is best for anyone interested in counterculture. Hunter S. Thompson\u2019s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is available from publisher Penguin Random House<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hunter S Thompson at his ranch standing against a bookcase with a Ralph Steadman picture on the wall … More on October 12, 1990. He wrote one of the best opening lines in a book.<\/p>\n Getty Images Simple, to the point and unassuming, the opening line of Melville\u2019s whale of a tale introduces the plainspoken narrator\u2014who, it turns out, may not be quite as reliable a narrator as it first seems (why not just say, \u201cmy name is Ishmael\u201d). He describes his captain\u2019s quest to hunt down the great Moby Dick.<\/p>\n This book is best for those interested in social commentary who don\u2019t mind accompanying passages about whale blubber. Herman Melville\u2019s Moby Dick is available from publisher Simon & Schuster<\/a>.<\/p>\n 4. \u201cIt was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.\u201d\u2014The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)<\/p>\n So much of successful storytelling is about establishing time and place, and Plath does this beautifully with her opening line that delivers, if not an actual date and address, about as close as you can come. Her novel explores this clearly unsure narrator\u2019s descent into depression, partly due to societal expectations.<\/p>\n This book is best for anyone who loves poetry and dark but lyrical writing. Sylvia Plath\u2019s The Bell Jar is available from publisher HarperCollins<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3. \u201cIt was a dark and stormy night.\u201d\u2014A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)<\/p>\n This line has become clich\u00e9 for a reason\u2014it perfectly sets tone, mood and expectations for this novel about a young girl\u2019s quest to find her lost father. The guileless tone and straightforward description (nothing flowery) create expectations that L\u2019Engle fulfills for a thrilling yet winnable adventure.<\/p>\n This book is best for children\u2019s literature fans. Madeleine L\u2019Engle\u2019s A Wrinkle in Time is available from publisher Macmillan<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2. \u201cI am an invisible man.\u201d\u2014Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)<\/p>\n Ellison\u2019s narrator lays it all on the line to start. He tells the reader that he is invisible, and it soon becomes apparent that this truth is a metaphor for Blackness in the early 20th century. The unnamed protagonist (unseen even by the reader) struggles to fulfill his dreams of professional success due to racism.<\/p>\n This book is best for those who want to read about the harsh realities of the Jim Crow South. Ralph Ellison\u2019s Invisible Man is available from publisher Penguin Random House<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1. \u201cIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times.\u201d\u2014A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)<\/p>\n Dickens penned arguably the most famous opening line ever with his observation about how two things can be true at once, depending on your circumstances. The novel follows the saga of families in London and Paris who navigate tumultuous historical events as well as personal upheavals, including love, loss and even murder.<\/p>\n This book is best for Dickens fans and epic family fiction lovers. Charles Dickens<\/a>\u2019 A Tale of Two Cities is available from publisher Simon & Schuster<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n See which opening line appeals to you, and then enjoy a terrific read that builds on the imaginative opener. These books are all among the best ever written, and the opening lines are just one part of their genius.<\/p>\n Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)<\/p>\n What Are Great Book Passages?<\/p>\n Great book passages combine several sentences to flesh out a character or move the plot forward by conveying a universal truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n This wonderful excerpt from E.B. White\u2019s Charlotte\u2019s Web<\/a> (1952) gives insight into a relationship:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2019You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\n10. \u201cAll this happened, more or less.\u201d\u2014Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)<\/p>\n
\n5. \u201cCall me Ishmael.\u201d\u2014Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851)<\/p>\n