It was a dark and stormy night.
It was a dark and stormy night.
(OP)
The first sentence in a novel can often set the tone for the entire read. What are your best...and worst first sentences you've come across?
A couple of examples:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
"Mother died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure."
The Stranger by Albert Camus.
"It was well past the time when anyone should feel the least bit embarrassed by asking for another drink."
Gloria by Keith Maillard.
"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."
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.
A couple of examples:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
"Mother died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure."
The Stranger by Albert Camus.
"It was well past the time when anyone should feel the least bit embarrassed by asking for another drink."
Gloria by Keith Maillard.
"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."
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.





RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
The first words of my highschool Latin I text book.
rmw
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
"What's it going to be then, eh?"
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
The Dark Tower, Vol I by Stephen King
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 1979.
Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Howard Waldrop, Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance?
"Dad was in the basement centrifuging mouse spleen hybridoma, when I informed him that I'd enrolled at the Wilford Military Academy of Beauty."
Mark Leyner, Fugitive from a Centrifuge
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Isn't it "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres?" from Caeser's "Commentarii De Bello Gallico"?
Though I had to look up where the Omnis went (I thought it was the first word.) And it's one of my favorite first lines along with "Arma virumque canto" from Virgil's Aenid
Patricia Lougheed
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
"It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archibishop had come to see me."
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
In the Precense of My Enemies by: Gracia Burnham
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Ray Bradury - Fahrenheit 451
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Here's this year's winner:
" As he stared at her ample bosom, he daydreamed of the dual Stromberg carburetors in his vintage Triumph Spitfire, highly functional yet pleasingly formed, perched prominently on top of the intake manifold, aching for experienced hands, the small knurled caps of the oil dampeners begging to be inspected and adjusted as described in chapter seven of the shop manual."
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Re: Bulwer Lytton winner.....
And to make it even worse......
Triumph Spitfires were fitted with S.U. carbs as I remember!!!
Rgds
Harry
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
so simple, yet so powerful.
saludos.
a.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
"You're going to love working here"
HR director, former employer
"If A equals success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut."
-- by Albert Einstein
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Definitely my worst!
I even refuse to give you the title of the book!!
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
LOL, I always thought that was Snoopy!
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier. A gently spooky story and the first line encapsulates the mood quite well.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Ciao
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
nah. "Canto" is definitely "I sing" -- the word cantor derives from this. The translation of the first line is "Of a man and his arms, I sing"
Patricia Lougheed
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
"No, you canto"
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Another beer will cost two tolkiens.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
The Dark Beyond the Stars, Frank M. Robinson
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
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RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
You bet me to that one. It is not only the worst opening sentence in any book. It is the opening sentence in a book that I tried to read many times, but never was able to finish. The White Whale is after me in my dreams.
justkeepgiviner,
John Galt is my alter ego in some chat rooms. I do a lot of motor work - so I thought that I could borrow it from "Atlas shrugged" - I do not think that the book(s), or beginning, is that bad.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Hg
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RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
Neither do I! Maybe I should have been more specific. But the brevity of my post was for dramatic effect.
When I read Atlas Shrugged I repeatedly had the urge to throw it in the fireplace, but I just got another cup of tea and kept reading... While I don't subscribe to her line of thinking I think there's a lot to be learned from Ayn Rand's writing.
RE: It was a dark and stormy night.
My favourite novel - by far. Anybody else like it?