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 #37 · Sunday, 6 September 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

“Except for the Marabar Caves—and they are twenty miles off—the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary.”

A Room of One's OwnVirginia WoolfDon QuixoteMiguel de CervantesA Passage to IndiaE. M. ForsterDavid CopperfieldCharles Dickens

Line 2

“When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.”

Little WomenLouisa May AlcottDraculaBram StokerSense and SensibilityJane AustenThe Secret GardenFrances Hodgson Burnett

Line 3

“We were in class when the head-master came in, followed by a ‘new fellow,’ not wearing the school uniform, and a school servant carrying a large desk.”

The War of the WorldsH. G. WellsGreat ExpectationsCharles DickensMadame BovaryGustave FlaubertThe Count of Monte CristoAlexandre Dumas

Line 4

“In a village of La Mancha, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and a greyhound for coursing.”

Don QuixoteMiguel de CervantesThe Picture of Dorian GrayOscar WildeThe Portrait of a LadyHenry JamesPersuasionJane Austen

Line 5

“No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine.”

A Christmas CarolCharles DickensMrs DallowayVirginia WoolfDavid CopperfieldCharles DickensNorthanger AbbeyJane 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.