# Guess the Novel By Its First Line: A Game **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 30, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296 "2008-03-30T18:42:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/21 "2008-03-30T22:56:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Is this Hyperion by Dan Simmons? No, it is not. (_Howards End_ and _A Canticle for Leibowitz_ are correct.) ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/22 "2008-03-31T10:11:48Z")
22.3 The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/23 "2008-03-31T14:09:20Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] 11. Clare: It’s hard being left behind. 22.1 While the present century was in its teens, and on one sun-shiny morning in June, there drove up to the great iron gate of Miss Pinkerton’s academy for young ladies, on Chiswick Mall, a large family coach, with two fat horses in blazing harness, driven by a fat coachman in a three-cornered hat and wig, at the rate of four miles an hour. [/QUOTE] 1. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenger 22.1 Tom Jones? 1. If a man walks in dressed like a hick and acting as if he owns the place, he’s a spaceman. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/24 "2008-03-31T14:14:48Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] 22.1 While the present century was in its teens, and on one sun-shiny morning in June, there drove up to the great iron gate of Miss Pinkerton’s academy for young ladies, on Chiswick Mall, a large family coach, with two fat horses in blazing harness, driven by a fat coachman in a three-cornered hat and wig, at the rate of four miles an hour. [/QUOTE] Vanity Fair, by W.M. Thackeray. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/25 "2008-03-31T15:59:40Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. While the present century was in its teens, and on one sun-shiny morning in June, there drove up to the great iron gate of Miss Pinkerton’s academy for young ladies, on Chiswick Mall, a large family coach, with two fat horses in blazing harness, driven by a fat coachman in a three-cornered hat and wig, at the rate of four miles an hour. > [@](#): > > 1 – Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Heller really took off in a different direction after that opening, didn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/26 "2008-03-31T16:15:06Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. _Frankenstein_ by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 1. Everybody is talkin’ these days about Tammany men growin’ rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin’ the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. 2. I am Buffalo Bill’s horse. 3. The small boys came early to the hanging. 4. Almost everyone thought the man and the boy were father and son. 5. Hughes got it wrong, in one important detail. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/27 "2008-03-31T16:32:24Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Nobody guessed these last time we did this, so I’ll post 'em again. “A sum of money is a leading character in this tale about people, just as a sum of honey might properly be a leading character in a tale about bees.” “It had all been arranged by telegram; Jeremy Pordage was to look out for a coloured chauffeur in a grey uniform with a carnation in the button-hole; and the coloured chauffeur was to look out for a middle-aged Englishman carrying the Poetical Works of Wordsworth.” [/QUOTE] Is the second one one of the _Jeeves and Wooster_ stories by P.G. Wodehouse? ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/28 "2008-03-31T16:41:04Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Nobody guessed these last time we did this, so I’ll post 'em again. “A sum of money is a leading character in this tale about people, just as a sum of honey might properly be a leading character in a tale about bees.” [/QUOTE] God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Kurt Vonnegut ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/29 "2008-03-31T16:44:25Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. I’ll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught as a child on my homeworld that Truth is a matter of the imagination. _Left Hand of Darkness_ - Ursula LeGuin. > [@](#): > > How it did rain, to be sure! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/30 "2008-03-31T18:03:16Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] 29. If a man walks in dressed like a hick and acting as if he owns the place, he’s a spaceman. [/QUOTE] That sounds like Heinlein, but I can’t identify the book. [QUOTE=Little Nemo] 32. The small boys came early to the hanging. [/QUOTE] _The Pillars of the Earth_ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/31 "2008-03-31T19:35:53Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > : > > Originally Posted by OtakuLoki > > 29. If a man walks in dressed like a hick and acting as if he owns the place, he’s a spaceman. > > That sounds like Heinlein, but I can’t identify the book. **Double Star** ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/32 "2008-03-31T19:37:53Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Is the second one one of the _Jeeves and Wooster_ stories by P.G. Wodehouse? [/QUOTE] Nope. It’s _After Many a Summer Dies the Swan_ by Aldous Huxley. > [@mshar253](#): > > God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Kurt Vonnegut You are officially awesome. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/33 "2008-03-31T21:20:45Z")
18: _The Water Babies_ 33: _'Salem’s Lot_ I’m going to give one, but I’m going to leave out the character’s name, because it’s a dead giveaway. _xxx was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charms as the Tarleton twins were._ ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/34 "2008-03-31T21:37:59Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] I’m going to give one, but I’m going to leave out the character’s name, because it’s a dead giveaway. _xxx was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charms as the Tarleton twins were._ [/QUOTE] Shoulda left out the other name too: **Gone with the Wind** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/35 "2008-03-31T21:41:45Z")
I haven’t answered, but mine will surely never be answered due to its difficulty and obscureness: – _Lolita_. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/36 "2008-03-31T23:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] **Double Star** [/QUOTE] Correct. And, of course, **Eleanor of Aquitaine** is correct - it is a Heinlein. And it begins what is in my opinion one of the most effective immersion introductions in SF: Not only is the world defined quickly, but the narrator’s character shows through in the tone. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/37 "2008-04-02T00:21:59Z")
BH1: Whenever my mother talks to me, she begins the conversation as though we were already in the middle of an argument. BH2: You better not never tell nobody but God. BH3: The bells of St. Mark’s were ringing changes up on the mountain when Bud skated over to the mod parlor to upgrade his skull gun. BH4: Hi, this is Alexis at the Parents’ League. BH5: Call them the Firstborn. BH6: The host poured tea into the cup and placed it on the small table in front of his guests, who were a father and daughter, and put the lid on the cup with a clink. All of these are from favorite books off my shelf next to me. ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/38 "2008-04-02T00:36:24Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] My father had a face that could stop a clock. [/QUOTE] _The Eyre Affair_, Jasper Fforde [QUOTE=Bambi Hassenpfeffer] BH3: The bells of St. Mark’s were ringing changes up on the mountain when Bud skated over to the mod parlor to upgrade his skull gun. [/QUOTE] _The Diamond Age_, Neal Stephenson ---
**Author:** ![pprgrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f6c823/32.png) [@pprgrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pprgrl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/39 "2008-04-02T02:29:13Z")
[QUOTE=Bambi Hassenpfeffer] BH2: You better not never tell nobody but God. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure this is _The Color Purple_ but I can’t check because for some inexplicable reason it is not sitting on my shelf of favorite books. BH1 is really, really familiar but I can’t quite place it. I’m gonna be doing one of these :smack: when somebody walks in here with the right answer. ---
**Author:** ![Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weaver_of_Nightmares)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296/40 "2008-04-02T13:41:17Z")
1. First of all, it was October, a rare month for boys. 2. The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself. 3. In the spring, families in the suburbs of New Orleans-Metarie, Jefferson, Lafayette-hang wreaths on their front doors. 4. Once upon a time when the world was young there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith. 5. Of all the rash and midnight promises made in the name of love none, Boone now knew, was more certain to be broken than: ‘I’ll never leave you’. 6. They never found her. Nothing at all: no clothes, no jewelry, no bones or teeth or lock of auburn hair. 7. When the office door opened suddenly I knew the game was up. 8. Imagine that you have to break someone’s arm. 9. The idiot lived in a black and gray world, punctuated by the white lightning of hunger and the flickering of fear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-the-novel-by-its-first-line-a-game/443296.md?page=3)