>>>>>http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_a125216a-649f-5414-88b5-76a688ea3b6a.html
>>>>>(it's from 2006 - should any be added to the list?)
>>>>
>>>>Truly bizarre. Item 22 is almost universally hailed as the worst first line in the history of writing. It is the line that gave rise to the contest that challenges entrants to write a first line to a badly written book.
>>>>
>>>>http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/
>>>
>>>I thought it was the most memorable first lines - in which case that one certainly qualifies. The author is certainly one of the most interesting people on the list.
>>
>>Nah. Only the first 7 words are truly memorable. Nobody really remembers the rest. And even then, I have to wonder how many people would be aware of that beginning phrase if it weren't for Snoopy.
>>
>>>
>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bulwer-Lytton,_1st_Baron_Lytton
>
>Yeah, but don't we have him to thank for Gina Lolabrigida ( if I remember right ) in Last Days of Pompeii ? ( my bad - Solomon and Sheba - but he did write LD of P and it has been made a movie at least 4 times )
>
>( for lurkers - worth looking at his bio on the attached link. He also wrote some of the great best-sellers of his day, coined the phrases "pursuit of the almighty dollar" and the "pen is mightier than the sword" and wrote Vril : the Coming Race which was one of the first sci-fi hits. )

I don't disagree with any of that. A very remarkable individual (good and bad). But the 'dark and stormy night' line is horrible. It only makes readers read on for the same reason why folks can't look away from a car wreck on the highway.