Opening lines: The 15 best opening lines you have ever read.

There are so many books that I’ve started to read and failed to even get past the first page. And on the other end of the scale, there are heaps of books that have captivated me from the very first sentence. So today we are asking you about the iconic books from throughout the years in which the opening line is a story in itself. Has there been an opening line that just grabbed you and sucked you right in?

Stylist.co.uk recently did a list of the 100 best opening lines from books; we’ve taken 15 of our favourites and included them in a gallery for your viewing pleasure. Flick, read and enjoy.

I will not drink more than fourteen alcohol units a week.- Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding

I wish Giovanni would kiss me. - Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert

Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. - Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell

Marley was dead, to begin with. - A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the riverbank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book', thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversation? - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Caroll

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. - Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

Dr Iannis had enjoyed a satisfactory day in which none of his patients had died or got any worse. - Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. - Emma, Jane Austen

You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. - Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling

Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.- Lady Chatterley's Lover, D.H. Lawrence

'Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. - Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

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. - Matilda, Roald Dahl

Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. - Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolfe

No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be a heroine. - Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen

What’s your favourite opening line of all time? Which book grabbed you because of its opening line?

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What’s your favourite opening line of all time? Which book grabbed you because of its opening line?

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