"London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill."
Bleak House
by Charles Dickens
opening sentences
Amanda's read-along starts tomorrow. Would you like to join us?
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
I haven't read this one, but I love the language and the feelings it evokes.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to get to this one...some day!
Thanks for visiting my blog.
I haven't read this one either. The only books by Dickens that I have read are the pretty standard ones - Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. Mine is from The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI love Dickens. Any day!
ReplyDeleteGreat teaser!
Here is my Teaser Tuesday: The Tale of Halcyon Crane!
Had to struggle through this one in a Victorian literature class. Thought I'd never finish it, but I ended up enjoying it much more than I expected to. Still don't care much for Dickens, but this is one of the good ones, I think. Hope you enjoy it. Good teaser!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read much Dickens. I like this teaser, but I'm not sure about a whole book with this style writing.
ReplyDeleteOh after the rain we had yesterday in London this could be August 2010. I always feel really fortunate living in London and imagining how Dicken's London looked then. I went past Holborn Hill today...
ReplyDeleteWonderful teaser! I might have to dig out The Pickwick Papers for next week.
ReplyDeleteMy teaser: The Time Traveler's Wife
Great teaser! It's always nice to see a classic like this shared for blogging. My teaser is at The Crowded Leaf.
ReplyDeleteYou are a temptress! I will be strong and resist but only because I have so many other books calling to me at the moment but you're making it very, very difficult!
ReplyDeleteMy current read is The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox and it's somewhat in the vein of Dickens/Collins. There's a sequel as well so that's roughly 1,000 pages between the two keeping me busy.
Great teaser! Bleak House is on my to be read list, and I actually have a copy of it on my bookshelf! Here's mine, it's also a classic: http://beltwayliterature.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/teaser-tuesday-dracula/
ReplyDeleteLaurel-Rain Snow - The first few paragraphs of the book are very visual... the fog, the mud, the rain...
ReplyDeleteKathy Martin - A Tale of Two Cities was tough for me to get through, but I loved Great Expectations. We'll see how this goes.
Gautami - Bleak House is off to a great start. Think I'm going to like this one!
Joy - A Tale of Two Cities is the Dickens I struggled through. So far, this one is great!
Carol - I'm hoping to just fall into the rhythm of the writing... we'll see.
Joan Hunter Dunn - LOL! I've only been to London once (hope to get back there this spring), but I spent a fair amount of time wondering how it all looked to Dickens.
Des - I haven't read The Pickwick Papers... let me know of you decide to tackle it.
Alayne - I've just discovered read-alongs this year. With a group, I can attempt just about anything.
Darlene - Just a few chapters in, but this should be great fun! I'm intrigued with The Meaning of Night and will look forward to hearing more about it!
Beltwatbandit - And I think there's a copy of Dracula waiting on my shelf, too! Will be right over to check out your teaser...
I seriously would like to read this one but I'm finishing a chunkster as we speak. I'll try to keep up with your progress as you read this!! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI need to read this, as it has escaped me all these years sadly. I will live through your review :)
ReplyDeleteno pressure...LOL
Nice quote. I would join but I'm too behind in reading and reviewing as it is. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI love that opening :)
ReplyDeleteStaci - Sometimes you need a little break between chunksters... they can be all-consuming!
ReplyDeleteDiane - I'll see what I can do ;-)
Vasilly - Bleak House does require a huge time commitment. I'm glad it worked out for me this time.
Nymeth - Dickens has a way with openings, doesn't he?!
Is the fact that I'm reading Dostoevsky a good enough reason for not joining in this readalong?
ReplyDeleteSoftdrink - That's more than enough! What were you guys thinking???
ReplyDeleteTewrrific teaser! The images are wonderful and it made me laugh as well!
ReplyDelete~ Amy
Almost as good as the first line of A Tale of Two Cities. I hope you're enjoying Bleak House
ReplyDeleteAmy - I'd forgotten how very visual Dickens can be.
ReplyDeleteKarenlibrarian - The opening to A Tale of Two Cities is truly unforgettable! So far, Bleak HOuse has really captured my attention.
I was totally intimidated by this opening sentence when I read it :)
ReplyDelete