These are the best opening lines from novels, according to a new poll
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...”
The opening line to Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” is one of the most well-known opening lines to a novel of all time.
In fact, readers in the United Kingdom ranked it as the “most iconic opening from a novel,” ahead of 24 other opening lines from novels, the Daily Mail reported.
Other famous novels also made the list, including George Orwell’s “1984” and J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter.”
The poll — commissioned by Amazon Books U.K. — asked 2,000 Amazon readers to vote for the “most memorable and captivating opening lines from the world of literature,” according to The Telegraph. Those surveyed could pick more than one favorite.
The poll also found that 64% have stopped reading if the opening lines didn’t capture their attention, while 43% of respondents believe that the opening lines can make or break a novel.
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Below are the top 25 opening lines from novels, according to the new poll:
1. ‘A Tale of Two Cities’
Author: Charles Dickens.
Percent of votes: 29%.
Opening line: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
2. ‘1984’
Author: George Orwell.
Percent of votes: 24%.
Opening line: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
3. ‘Peter Pan’
Author: J.M. Barrie.
Percent of votes: 22%.
Opening line: “All children, except one, grow up.”
4. ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’
Author: J.K. Rowling
Percent of votes: 22%
Opening line: “Mr and Mrs Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”
5. ‘Matilda’
Author: Roald Dahl.
Percent of votes: 21%.
Opening line: “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.”
6. ‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4’
Author: Sue Townsend.
Percent of votes: 17%.
Opening line: “Thursday January 1st BANK HOLIDAY IN ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES These are my New Year’s resolutions:
“I will help the blind across the road
“I will hang my trousers up
“I will put the sleeves back on my records
“I will not start smoking
“I will stop squeezing my spots
“I will be kind to the dog
“I will help the poor and ignorant
“After hearing the disgusting noises from downstairs last night, I have also vowed never to drink alcohol.”
8. ‘The Martian’
Author: Andy Weir.
Percent of votes: 16%.
Opening line: “I’m pretty much (expletive).”
9. ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’
Author: C.S. Lewis.
Percent of votes: 16%.
Opening line: “Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy …”
10. ‘Goldfinger’
Author: Ian Fleming.
Percent of votes: 16%.
Opening line: “James Bond, with two double bourbons inside him, sat in the final departure lounge of Miami airport and thought about death.”
11. ‘The Lovely Bones’
Author: Alice Sebold.
Percent of votes: 15%.
Opening line: “My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.”
12. ‘Gone Girl’
Author: Gillian Flynn.
Percent of votes: 15%.
Opening line: “When I think of my wife, I always think of the back of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brain, trying to get answers.”
13. ‘Pride and Prejudice’
Author: Jane Austen.
Percent of votes: 15%.
Opening line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
14. ‘Catcher in the Rye’
Author: J.D. Salinger.
Percent of votes: 13%.
Opening line: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”
15. ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’
Author: Douglas Adams.
Percent of votes: 12%.
Opening line: “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun.”
16. ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’
Author: Helen Fielding.
Percent of votes: 12%.
Opening line: “January: An Exceptionally Bad Start. Sunday 1 January. 129 lbs (but post-Christmas), alcohol units 14 (but effectively covers 2 days as 4 hours of party was on New Year), cigarettes 22, calories 5424.”
17. ‘It Ends With Us’
Author: Colleen Hoover.
Percent of votes: 12%.
Opening line: “As I sit here with one foot on either side of the ledge, looking down from twelve stories above the streets of Boston, I can’t help but think about suicide.”
18. ‘Moby-Dick’
Author: Herman Melville.
Percent of votes: 11%.
Opening line: “Call me Ishmael.”
19. ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’
Author: Truman Capote.
Percent of votes: 11%.
Opening line: “I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods.”
20. ‘The Hunger Games’
Author: Suzanne Collins.
Percent of votes: 11%.
Opening line: “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.”
21. ‘Mary Poppins’
Author: P.L. Travers.
Percent of votes: 11%.
Opening line: “If you want to find Cherry-Tree Lane all you have to do is ask the Policeman at the cross-roads.”
22. ‘Anna Karenina’
Author: Leo Tolstoy.
Percent of votes: 11%.
Opening line: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
23. ‘The Color Purple’
Author: Alice Walker.
Percent of votes: 10%.
Opening line: “You better not never tell nobody but God.”
24. ‘Choke’
Author: Chuck Palahniuk.
Percent of votes: 10%.
Opening line: “If you’re going to read this, don’t bother.”
25. ‘Invisible Man’
Author: Ralph Ellison.
Percent of votes: 9%.
Opening line: “I am an invisible man.”
