Tonight I am adding a post to my First Lines series. The second post was More First Lines and this one is the third. Can I come up with yet more post titles without having to add a number to the end?

All the book covers for this post come from my Penguin Popular Classics collection. With the acquisition of 3 more today I now have 54 titles in this series.

One of the books that I picked up today is Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Do you know the first line of this book?

ALL CHILDREN, except one, grow up.

Peter Pan was originally written as a play and was first performed in 1904. The novel was not written until 1911. Usually the book comes first and then a play or movie, but that is not always the case.

Waverley by Sir Walter Scott has an interesting first line.

The title of this work has not been chosen without the grave and solid deliberation, which matters of importance demand from the prudent.

It could be argued that this is not the true first line of the novel as it starts with an introductory chapter that discusses why the title was chosen. The full title of the novel is Waverley; or, ‘T is Sixty Years Since. However, it is commonly just referred to as Waverley.

The second chapter starts as follows:

It is, then, sixty years since Edward Waverley, the hero of the following pages, took leave of his family, to join the regiment of dragoons in which he had lately obtained a commission.

I like the start of the first chapter and the interesting discussion that follows as to the title. Waverley is considered the first historical novel. Since this is one of my favorite types of novels it is of great interest to me and one that I need to read. At least I now have a copy 🙂

Next up is Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.

I will begin the story of my adventures with a certain morning early in the month of June, the year of grace 1751, when I took the key for the last time out of the door of my father’s house.

So began the adventures of David Balfour in this classic tale of deceit, shipwreck, false charges and finally triumph.

The Canterbury Tales: A Selection by Geoffrey Chaucer brought back some good memories of studying it in College Prep English with Mrs. McQuade. At one time I could quote the first 20 or so lines of The General Prologue.

Whan the April with his showres soote

The drought of March hath perced to the roote

And bathed every vein in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flowr;

Whan Zephyrus, eek, with his sweete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heeth

The tender croppes, and the young sunne

Hath in the Ram his halve course y-runne,

I picked up Kidnapped and The Canterbury Tales during my last trip to Germany. See my post Book Acquisitions in Germany.

What are your favorite first lines?

Steven