Famous First Lines - Advent Calendar Card

Famous First Lines – 24-Door Calendar for Book Lovers

A hand-illustrated 24-door calendar for readers: open 24 hidden doors, read a famous first line and guess the classic novel it opens.

Step into a grand old writing study. A quill is still wet on the manuscript, the rolling ladder is parked by the shelves, and an elderly writer is scribbling away at the desk.

Hidden around the scene are 24 little doors: a tiny door is hidden on a shelf of books, a framed page, a pigeon-hole of letters or the desk. Behind each one is a famous first line from a classic novel, with a little hint illustration of the opening scene. Every day for 24 days, find the door, open it and guess.

How it works

1. Find the door. Search the picture for today’s number.
2. Open it. A hand-drawn picture is waiting inside.
3. Guess. Read the line, then name the book (and its author if you dare).
4. Check the answers on day 24. All 24 books, authors and years, listed on an illustrated answer sheet sealed in its own envelope.

Why readers adore it

• A daily literary quiz: 24 openings, from ‘Call me Ishmael.’ to ‘Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance…’
• Easy and hard mixed: some every reader knows, others will humble the English-degree friend.
• Hand-illustrated artwork: a cosy ink-and-watercolour study with a hidden door on every shelf and frame.
• An easy gift: for the friend who has read everything.
• Screen-free and sugar-free: a nightly ritual for readers.

Perfect for: Book lovers, book-club friends, English teachers and students, writers, and anyone who reads the first page of a novel in the shop.

What’s included

• 1 illustrated 24-door calendar, A4 landscape (21 × 29.7 cm / 8.3 × 11.7 in), with 24 perforated doors
• 1 illustrated answer sheet
• 1 illustrated “The Answers” envelope to keep the solutions secret until door 24

Good to know

• The first lines are printed under each little picture, so there is nothing to look up. The calendar contains no food or treats.
• The text is in English. Younger children may need a grown-up to help open the small paper doors.

24 doors, 24 surprises, and a delightful 24 days for readers. 📚