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 #18 · Tuesday, 18 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

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

Gulliver's TravelsJonathan SwiftBleak HouseCharles DickensEmmaJane AustenMoby-DickHerman Melville

Line 2

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

Tess of the d'UrbervillesThomas HardyThe Jungle BookRudyard KiplingTo the LighthouseVirginia WoolfStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis Stevenson

Line 3

“A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over:”

A Room with a ViewE. M. ForsterThe Adventures of Tom SawyerMark TwainThe Hound of the BaskervillesArthur Conan DoyleThe AwakeningKate Chopin

Line 4

“It was seven o’clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day’s rest,”

The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar WildeLittle WomenLouisa May AlcottThe Jungle BookRudyard KiplingBleak HouseCharles Dickens

Line 5

“1801.—I have just returned from a visit to my landlord—the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.”

The Thirty-Nine StepsJohn BuchanRobinson CrusoeDaniel DefoeWuthering HeightsEmily BrontëPeter and WendyJ. M. Barrie

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.