As an AI language model, I can certainly provide you with a detailed answer about some of the most famous opening lines in books. However, I should note that “fame” can be subjective, and different people may have varying opinions on what constitutes a famous opening line. That being said, here are 18 notable and widely recognized opening lines from literature:
1. “The King is dead.” – from “The Go-Between” by L.P. Hartley
2. “Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.” – from “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis
3. “Call me Ishmael.” – from “Moby-Dick” by Herman Melville
4. “I am an invisible man.” – from “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison
5. “The story so far: in the beginning, the universe was created.” – from “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe” by Douglas Adams
6. “Mother died today.” – from “The Stranger” by Albert Camus
7. “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” – from “1984” by George Orwell
8. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” – from “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
9. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” – from “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens
10. “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – from “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy
11. “It was a pleasure to burn.” – from “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury
12. “It was a dark and stormy night.” – from “Paul Clifford” by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
13. “It was the day my grandmother exploded.” – from “The Crow Road” by Iain Banks
14. “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.” – from “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov
15. “It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.” – from “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath
16. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” – from “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier
17. “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – from “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy
18. “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” – from “Neuromancer” by William Gibson
These opening lines have become memorable for various reasons, such as their evocative nature, unique perspectives, or ability to capture the reader’s attention from the very beginning. They often set the tone, introduce a key theme, or establish the narrative voice of the respective books.
Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive, and there are many other famous and impactful opening lines in literature.