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 #49 · Friday, 18 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

“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.”

DraculaBram StokerTess of the d'UrbervillesThomas HardyHowards EndE. M. ForsterA Passage to IndiaE. M. Forster

Line 2

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

Tess of the d'UrbervillesThomas HardyJane EyreCharlotte BrontëDavid CopperfieldCharles DickensPride and PrejudiceJane Austen

Line 3

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

The Adventures of Tom SawyerMark TwainGulliver's TravelsJonathan SwiftBleak HouseCharles DickensLittle WomenLouisa May Alcott

Line 4

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

The Secret GardenFrances Hodgson BurnettThe Hound of the BaskervillesArthur Conan DoyleThe Portrait of a LadyHenry JamesNorthanger AbbeyJane Austen

Line 5

“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.”

Les MisérablesVictor HugoNorthanger AbbeyJane AustenAdventures of Huckleberry FinnMark TwainMadame BovaryGustave Flaubert

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.