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 #22 · Saturday, 22 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 1815, M. Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of D——”

A Christmas CarolCharles DickensThe Thirty-Nine StepsJohn BuchanRobinson CrusoeDaniel DefoeLes MisérablesVictor Hugo

Line 2

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

MiddlemarchGeorge EliotThe Time MachineH. G. WellsBleak HouseCharles DickensThe Portrait of a LadyHenry James

Line 3

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

The Secret GardenFrances Hodgson BurnettThe AwakeningKate ChopinDraculaBram StokerA Room of One's OwnVirginia Woolf

Line 4

“The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.”

The Wind in the WillowsKenneth GrahameTo the LighthouseVirginia WoolfA Room of One's OwnVirginia WoolfThe Call of the WildJack London

Line 5

“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.”

Tess of the d'UrbervillesThomas HardyTreasure IslandRobert Louis StevensonLittle WomenLouisa May AlcottEmmaJane Austen

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.