List Challenges
Travel Movies Books Food Other
Sign In
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

30 Great Opening Lines in Literature

Sometimes the opening line of a book can either make it sink or swim and define whether we read further. For me personally the opening line of a book has always been important and meaningful. I used to have this game with my boyfriend where we would read the opening lines of books to each other and critisize them and pick our favorites ;)
Here's The Telegraph's list of 30 great opening lines in literature. I'll only include the book, so you'll have to read the book in question (if you haven't already) to find out whether you think the opening line is great or not (or you could just read the original list ;p).
960 users · 3,950 views
 
from telegraph.co.uk · made by AnnaBoots
avg. score: 10 of 30 (34%)
required scores: 1, 6, 8, 11, 14 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 1
1
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
2
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
3
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
4
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
George Orwell
5
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar
Sylvia Plath
6
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
7
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
8
Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)
Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys
9
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
10
The Go-Between (L.P. Hartley)
The Go-Between
L.P. Hartley
11
Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
12
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
Herman Melville
13
Murphy (Samuel Beckett)
Murphy
Samuel Beckett
14
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
Joseph Heller
15
Middlemarch (George Eliot)
Middlemarch
George Eliot
16
Peter Pan (J. M. Barrie)
Peter Pan
J. M. Barrie
17
Portrait of a Lady (Henry James)
Portrait of a Lady
Henry James
18
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
19
Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Love in the Time of Cholera
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
20
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Ken Kesey)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Ken Kesey
21
Goodbye to Berlin (Christopher Isherwood)
Goodbye to Berlin
Christopher Isherwood
22
Elmer Gantry
Elmer Gantry
23
A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole
24
The Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane)
The Red Badge of Courage
Stephen Crane
25
The Crow Road (Iain Banks)
The Crow Road
Iain Banks
26
Jude the Obscure (Thomas Hardy)
Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy
27
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
28
The Stranger (Albert Camus)
The Stranger
Albert Camus
29
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
30
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut
Page 1 of 1
 Your Results
Click the SHOW MY RESULTS button
above to calculate your results.
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to '30 Great Opening Lines in Literature'
The Telegraph's 30 Great Opening Lines in Literature
The Telegraph's 30 Great Opening Lines in Literature
780
30
The Best Opening Lines in Literature
The Best Opening Lines in Literature
1,311
175
Best Opening Lines in Literature
Best Opening Lines in Literature
858
55
Reddit's List of Books With Great Opening Lines
Reddit's List of Books With Great Opening Lines
1,456
67
26 Great First Lines From Literature
26 Great First Lines From Literature
3,789
26
Reddit's Literature With Great Last Lines
Reddit's Literature With Great Last Lines
763
174
30 Novels With the Best Opening Lines (+ 2 Favourites)
30 Novels With the Best Opening Lines (+ 2 Favourites)
793
32
Call Me Stately Plump Mrs. Dalloway: 100 Best Opening Lines From Novels Per "American Book Review"
Call Me Stately Plump Mrs. Dalloway: 100 Best Opening Lines From Novels Per "American Book Review"
573
102
Most Memorable Opening Lines From TV Theme Songs
Most Memorable Opening Lines From TV Theme Songs
404
40
Songs With the Greatest Opening Lines According to Yardbarker
Songs With the Greatest Opening Lines According to Yardbarker
186
25
Absolutely Incredible Opening Lines That Convinced People to Watch the Rest of the Movie (BuzzFeed)
Absolutely Incredible Opening Lines That Convinced People to Watch the Rest of the Movie (BuzzFeed)
168
34
Books From Anna's First Lines in Literature Mug
Books From Anna's First Lines in Literature Mug
295
25
Books on the AP Literature Open-Ended Essay 1971-2022
Books on the AP Literature Open-Ended Essay 1971-2022
685
415
Ranker's 50+ Great Movies That Blur the Lines Between Horror and Drama
Ranker's 50+ Great Movies That Blur the Lines Between Horror and Drama
176
53
Taste of Cinema's 20 Great Movies That Cross the Line Between Film and Stage
Taste of Cinema's 20 Great Movies That Cross the Line Between Film and Stage
152
20
75 Movies With Great Opening Scenes
75 Movies With Great Opening Scenes
7,854
75
Movies With Great Opening Scenes That Immediately Set the Tone (Cinemablend)
Movies With Great Opening Scenes That Immediately Set the Tone (Cinemablend)
302
32
15 Great Films Shot on Location in Rural and Wide-Open Landscapes
15 Great Films Shot on Location in Rural and Wide-Open Landscapes
129
15
AP Literature Reading List: 127 Great Books for Your Prep
AP Literature Reading List: 127 Great Books for Your Prep
2,561
127
Markd9528's Great Literature of the 19th to 21st Centuries
Markd9528's Great Literature of the 19th to 21st Centuries
1,536
76
Great World Literature
Great World Literature
1,439
100
Great Works of Literature
Great Works of Literature
864
337
Great Women's Literature
Great Women's Literature
766
14
Great American Literature
Great American Literature
744
200
A Further Updated List of Great Literature You May Have Read Too
A Further Updated List of Great Literature You May Have Read Too
677
390
Great Russian Literature
Great Russian Literature
647
54
Great Literature Written by Women
Great Literature Written by Women
630
67
Classic Novels: Meeting the Challenge of Great Literature
Classic Novels: Meeting the Challenge of Great Literature
601
19
Books Considered Classics (Or Great Literature) I've Read
Books Considered Classics (Or Great Literature) I've Read
596
101
Great Villains of Film & Literature
Great Villains of Film & Literature
526
40
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN