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Famous Novels With the Catchiest First Lines

"The opening lines of a novel can prove crucial, and many authors spend an inordinate amount of time considering how their books will begin. From Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities to Melville's Moby Dick, often the opening sentence or two of a book will become the most frequently quoted and iconic passage from the entire novel. This list has the best novels with great first lines, bound to make the best impression on readers."
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A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities
1
Charles Dickens
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
2
George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Fahrenheit 451
3
Ray Bradbury
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
4
Leo Tolstoy
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
5
Herman Melville
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Hobbit
6
J.R.R. Tolkien
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
7
Jane Austen
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Slaughterhouse-Five
8
Kurt Vonnegut
The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
The Metamorphosis
9
Franz Kafka
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield
10
Charles Dickens
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple
11
Alice Walker
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C. S. Lewis)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
12
C. S. Lewis
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
13
Harper Lee
The Go-Between (L.P. Hartley)
The Go-Between
14
L.P. Hartley
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
15
J.D. Salinger
The Crow Road (Iain Banks)
The Crow Road
16
Iain Banks
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar
17
Sylvia Plath
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
18
Mark Twain
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
19
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
20
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial
21
Franz Kafka
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
22
Ralph Ellison
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
23
Miguel De Cervantes
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
24
J.K. Rowling
Scaramouche (Rafael Sabatini)
Scaramouche
25
Rafael Sabatini
The Stranger (Albert Camus)
The Stranger
26
Albert Camus
Neuromancer (William Gibson)
Neuromancer
27
William Gibson
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea
28
Ernest Hemingway
Notes From Underground (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Notes From Underground
29
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Middle Passage (Charles Johnson)
Middle Passage
30
Charles Johnson
Paradise (Toni Morrison)
Paradise
31
Toni Morrison
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
32
Vladimir Nabokov
A Frolic of His Own (William Gaddis)
A Frolic of His Own
33
William Gaddis
Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Middlesex
34
Jeffrey Eugenides
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
35
Zora Neale Hurston
Chromos (Felipe Alfau)
Chromos
36
Felipe Alfau
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
A Clockwork Orange
37
Anthony Burgess
Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)
Ethan Frome
38
Edith Wharton
The End of the Affair (Graham Greene)
The End of the Affair
39
Graham Greene
Back When We Were Grownups (Anne Tyler)
Back When We Were Grownups
40
Anne Tyler
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