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 #13 · Thursday, 13 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

“I returned from the City about three o’clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life.”

The Portrait of a LadyHenry JamesPride and PrejudiceJane AustenMiddlemarchGeorge EliotThe Thirty-Nine StepsJohn Buchan

Line 2

“‘Tom!’”

PersuasionJane AustenThe Hound of the BaskervillesArthur Conan DoyleThe Picture of Dorian GrayOscar WildeThe Adventures of Tom SawyerMark Twain

Line 3

“Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile;”

To the LighthouseVirginia WoolfThe Great GatsbyF. Scott FitzgeraldStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis StevensonFrankensteinMary Shelley

Line 4

“All children, except one, grow up.”

Heart of DarknessJoseph ConradThe Scarlet LetterNathaniel HawthornePeter and WendyJ. M. BarrieThe Waste LandT. S. Eliot

Line 5

“On a January evening of the early seventies, Christine Nilsson was singing in Faust at the Academy of Music in New York.”

The Age of InnocenceEdith WhartonDon QuixoteMiguel de CervantesTreasure IslandRobert Louis StevensonThe Waste LandT. S. Eliot

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.