From
Paul Clifford
(1830)by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873)
From
Paul Clifford
(1830)
by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
(1803-1873)
Paul Clifford is, of course, not recognized as a great book. However, "it was a dark and stormy night" has become one of the most notorious opening lines in literature.
Snoopy, the Peanuts cartoon character, has sat on his doghouse and begun countless (apparently unfinished) novels with these words. The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction ("It Was a Dark and Stormy Night") Contest was begun in 1983 at San Jose State University, challenging writers to compose an opening sentence for the worst novel they can imagine.
Click here to go to the Web Site of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest