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 #70 · Friday, 9 October 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

“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.”

David CopperfieldCharles DickensAlice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis CarrollThe Brothers KaramazovFyodor DostoevskyThe Mysterious Affair at StylesAgatha Christie

Line 2

“I first heard of Ántonia on what seemed to me an interminable journey across the great midland plain of North America.”

My ÁntoniaWilla CatherHowards EndE. M. ForsterRobbery Under ArmsRolf BoldrewoodThe Magic PuddingNorman Lindsay

Line 3

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

The Scarlet PimpernelBaroness OrczyGoblin Market and Other PoemsChristina RossettiThe Time MachineH. G. WellsLittle WomenLouisa May Alcott

Line 4

“Morning and evening / Maids heard the goblins cry:”

The Portrait of a LadyHenry JamesIncidents in the Life of a Slave GirlHarriet JacobsThe Wonderful Wizard of OzL. Frank BaumGoblin Market and Other PoemsChristina Rossetti

Line 5

“I went down yesterday to the Piraeus with Glaucon the son of Ariston, that I might offer up my prayers to the goddess; and also because I wanted to see in what manner they would celebrate the festival, which was a new thing.”

The Lost WorldArthur Conan DoyleMountain IntervalRobert FrostThe Thirty-Nine StepsJohn BuchanThe RepublicPlato

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.