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Best Opening Lines in Literature

Here are 50 of the best, most captivating opening lines in literature, from classics to contemporary works.
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Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
Murder on the Orient Express
1
Agatha Christie
The Stranger (Albert Camus)
The Stranger
2
Albert Camus
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple
3
Alice Walker
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities
4
Charles Dickens
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield
5
Charles Dickens
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
The Road
6
Cormac McCarthy
I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)
I Capture the Castle
7
Dodie Smith
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History
8
Donna Tartt
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Douglas Adams)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
9
Douglas Adams
Night (Elie Wiesel)
Night
10
Elie Wiesel
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea
11
Ernest Hemingway
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
12
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
The Metamorphosis
13
Franz Kafka
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial
14
Franz Kafka
Anxious People (Fredrik Backman)
Anxious People
15
Fredrik Backman
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
16
Fyodor Dostoevsky
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
17
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
18
George Orwell
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
19
Harper Lee
Moby Dick (Herman Mellville)
Moby Dick
20
Herman Mellville
Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
Siddhartha
21
Hermann Hesse
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
22
Hunter S. Thompson
Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)
Trainspotting
23
Irvine Welsh
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (Italo Calvino)
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
24
Italo Calvino
Peter Pan (J. M. Barrie)
Peter Pan
25
J. M. Barrie
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
26
J.D. Salinger
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
27
J.K. Rowling
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake
28
James Joyce
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
29
James Joyce
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
30
Jane Austen
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
31
Joseph Heller
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Slaughterhouse-Five
32
Kurt Vonnegut
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
33
Leo Tolstoy
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
34
Lewis Carroll
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Little Women
35
Louisa May Alcott
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
In Search of Lost Time
36
Marcel Proust
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Handmaid's Tale
37
Margaret Atwood
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
38
Margaret Mitchell
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
The Book Thief
39
Markus Zusak
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
40
Miguel De Cervantes
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