Famous First Lines in Literature @1stlines - Tumblr Blog

A surging, seething, murmuring crowd, of beings that are human only in name, for to the eye and ear they seem naught but savage creatures...

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Countess Orczy

nevver

Opening lines - George Orwell, 1984

I often dream about the Dolphin Hotel. In these dreams, I'm there, implicated in some kind of ongoing circumstance. All indications are that I belong to this dream continuity.

Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami (1994)

#Haruki murakami #dance dance dance #first lines #lit #prose #fiction #quotes

People said that there was a new arrival on the Promenade: a lady with a little dog.

"The Lady with the Little Dog" by Anton Chekhov

#lit #anton chekhov #the lady with the little dog #short story

Sure I stole.

"Confessions of a Burglar" by Woody Allen, from Side Effects (1975)

#first lines #lit #woody allen #confessions of a burglar

A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968)

#do androids dream of electric sheep #philip k. dick #blade runner #first lines #lit #prose #quotes

This is a tale of a meeting of two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast.

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut (1973)

#kurt vonnegut #breakfast of champions #goodbye blue monday #lit #literature #novel #american #first lines

Here's how it started.

Journey to the End of Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1934)

#celine #first lines #french literature #journey to the end of night #lit #literature #louis-ferdinand celine #novel #translation by ralph manheim

ESTRAGON: Nothing to be done.

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (1953)

#play #drama #waiting for godot #Samuel Beckett #lit #literature #first lines

The sky had been covered with rain clouds since early morning; it was calm, not hot and oppressive as it is on grey overcast days when clouds have been hanging over the fields for a long time and you wait for rain but it does not come.

"Gooseberries" by Anton Chekhov (1898)

#anton chekhov #chekhov #first lines #gooseberries #lit #literature #short story #translation by carl r. proffer

It looked like a good thing; but what till I tell you.

"The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry (1910)

#short story #o. henry #william sydney porter #lit #literature #first lines #1st lines

Evening twilight.

"Heartache" by Anton Chekhov

#Russian literature #anton chekhov #first lines #heartache #lit #short story #trans. carl r. proffer

I am a ridiculous man.

"The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: A Fantastic Story" by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1877)

#a fantastic story #first lines #fyodor dostoevsky #lit #literature #short story #the dream of a ridiculous man #translation by olga shartse

Then there was the bad weather. It would come in one day when the fall was over.