Leave them Lightly Thumbed?
July 25, 2007
A BBC News website poll which asks readers to identify ten classic English novels based on their first lines is more difficult than you might think. Their website explains:
Leading literary firms failed to recognise the work of Jane Austen when it was sent in by a prankster. The opening chapters of three novels were submitted under an invented name, with titles and character names changed. Think you can do better? Try our opening line quiz.
Take the BBC poll and try from yourself. I scored a 6 out of 10. Perhaps this previous poll was wrong.
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Posted in Literature, Quotes, Web
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August 1st, 2007 at 7:05 am
Hi Paul! Well, I scored 5/10 but freely admit that 2 of those were blatant guesses. Hadn’t even heard of the authors/books. A bit British sided, though, wasn’t it???
August 1st, 2007 at 8:00 am
Rachel! Hey, everybody, it’s Rachel!
Yes, the quiz was indeed a bit beyond a doddle for an American bloke like me. I suppose my guesses were just luckier than yours.
Since you live in Australia now, do you think the Australians read more or less British literature than the Americans?