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 #25 · Tuesday, 25 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

“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 HardyJane EyreCharlotte BrontëThe Time MachineH. G. WellsFrankensteinMary Shelley

Line 2

“Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table.”

DraculaBram StokerJane EyreCharlotte BrontëEmmaJane AustenThe Hound of the BaskervillesArthur Conan Doyle

Line 3

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

The Wonderful Wizard of OzL. Frank BaumThe Thirty-Nine StepsJohn BuchanPersuasionJane AustenA Room with a ViewE. M. Forster

Line 4

“A throng of bearded men, in sad-coloured garments and grey steeled hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice,”

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis StevensonThe Sun Also RisesErnest HemingwayThe Scarlet LetterNathaniel HawthorneRobinson CrusoeDaniel Defoe

Line 5

“Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton.”

The Sun Also RisesErnest HemingwayThe Scarlet LetterNathaniel HawthorneRobinson CrusoeDaniel DefoeJane EyreCharlotte Brontë

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.