How do you play Opening Lines?

Read the opening sentence and choose the novel it belongs to. Look for the narrator, setting and tone as clues. A remembered first sentence can help, but a line can also be a starting point for finding a new book to read.

When do the daily book games change?

New puzzles arrive at midnight UTC. That may be morning, afternoon or evening in your time zone. The date on the game identifies the puzzle everyone is playing.

Can I play without an account?

You can play the daily games as a guest. Sign in if you want to keep your streaks across devices, and use the archive links when you want an earlier puzzle. Avoid posting an answer where people who have not played will see it.

Secondhand · Well-read · Much loved

Creasy Spines

“Every crease is a story.”

Vol. I · No. 292Monday, 19 October 2026Today’s edition

Opening Lines #12 · Wednesday, 12 August 2026

Opening Lines

Five first sentences from public-domain classics. Which book does each one open?

Replaying an archived puzzle. Play today’s

Line 1

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.”

Bleak HouseCharles DickensThe Picture of Dorian GrayOscar WildeThe Great GatsbyF. Scott FitzgeraldThe Time MachineH. G. Wells

Line 2

“The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him) was expounding a recondite matter to us.”

Great ExpectationsCharles DickensCrime and PunishmentFyodor DostoevskyThe Time MachineH. G. WellsThe Scarlet LetterNathaniel Hawthorne

Line 3

“On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore, or Blackmoor.”

Tess of the d'UrbervillesThomas HardyAdventures of Huckleberry FinnMark TwainA Passage to IndiaE. M. ForsterThe War of the WorldsH. G. Wells

Line 4

“My father had a small estate in Nottinghamshire; I was the third of five sons.”

Alice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis CarrollPeter and WendyJ. M. BarrieRobinson CrusoeDaniel DefoeGulliver's TravelsJonathan Swift

Line 5

“‘The Signora had no business to do it,’ said Miss Bartlett, ‘no business at all.’”

Alice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis CarrollA Room with a ViewE. M. ForsterThe Picture of Dorian GrayOscar WildeThe Portrait of a LadyHenry James

Archive · Your stats · First lines are from works published before 1930.

A few playing notes

How do you play Opening Lines?: Read the opening sentence and choose the novel it belongs to. Look for the narrator, setting and tone as clues. A remembered first sentence can help, but a line can also be a starting point for finding a new book to read.
When do the daily book games change?: New puzzles arrive at midnight UTC. That may be morning, afternoon or evening in your time zone. The date on the game identifies the puzzle everyone is playing.
Can I play without an account?: You can play the daily games as a guest. Sign in if you want to keep your streaks across devices, and use the archive links when you want an earlier puzzle. Avoid posting an answer where people who have not played will see it.