I can't remember what I said in previous threads on this topic, but the first one that springs to mind is from Jane Austen -
Pride and Prejudice:
Quote:
|
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife
|
This still strikes me as one that carries many desirable attributes: it is memorable (I could have written it from memory but copied it from an ebook to save typing); its demand "universally acknowledged" immediately has the reader participating, questioning whether they think the statement is true; there is nothing passive about it; it is a clear statement of what is to come; and even when the reader is finished it remains an apt summary of what the story was about.
You can't say all that about many first lines.