#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Name of Our Winner!

/ Marcia Meara

Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. Today, I’m sorry to say we have only one winner: Jeanne Owens.  Congratulations, Jeanne, and I hope you enjoy your download of Harbinger.

Jeanne’s Author Page can be found HERE  

And now, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:

“If you want to find Cherry-Tree Lane all you have to do is ask the Policeman at the cross-roads.” is the opening line of Mary Poppins  written by P. L. Travers in 1934.

Mary Poppins, a series of eight children’s books written by Australian-British writer P. L. Travers , was published over the period 1934 to 1988. Mary Shepard was the illustrator throughout the series.

The books center on the magical English nanny Mary Poppins, who is blown by the East wind to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, and into the Banks’ household to care for their children. Encounters with pavement-painters and shopkeepers, and various adventures ensue, until Mary Poppins abruptly leaves, or “pops out”. 

The books were adapted by Walt Disney into a musical film titled Mary Poppins (1964), starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It received both critical acclaim and a total of 13 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture – a record for any film released by Walt Disney Studios – and won five: Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee.”

In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.  Mary Poppins is considered Walt Disney’s crowning live-action achievement, and is the only one of his films which earned a Best Picture nomination during his lifetime.

WHAT AMAZON SAYS:

From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed.

It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!

Buy Mary Poppins HERE

And that wraps up #FirstLineFriday for this week. Will be back as soon as time allows with more great and inspiring first lines for your contemplation. Stay tuned!

16 thoughts on “#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Name of Our Winner!”

    • I just knew you would be, Darlene. I figured you’d be right on this one, and I’m sorry it didn’t click. Our brains get so filled up with stuff that sometimes we just can’t pull up what we’re rummaging around for. 😀 Better luck with the next one! 🙂

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    • I had a feeling it wouldn’t have been a line you’d recognize, but I knew you’d be familiar with Mary Poppins, in general. It’d be pretty hard to not have heard of the story, at least, or seen the movie at some point or other. But first lines can be super hard, even with books we’ve read multiple times. Good ones do an excellent job of pulling readers into a story, but the words by themselves don’t always stick. Still, I love studying them, and figuring out why the lines are on Top 100 Best Opening Lines lists over and over.

      Thanks for stopping by, and better luck with the next one. 🙂

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  3. Sorry I missed it, we actually had family visitors today – in the garden. I wonder how Mary Poppins would have dealt with Covid? Quickly and efficiently I expect. I am ashamed to say I have never read the book. I really enjoyed the film about the author and Walt Disney.

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    • One of my favorite series as a child. I devoured the books and adored Mary Poppins. And of course, the movie was so much fun, even all those years later. 🙂 Hope you’ll stop by again next time, though. 🙂

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  4. I should have got this one! The line went round and round in my head and the answer remained tantalisingly out of reach. I love these challenges! Congratulations to Jeanne’

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    • I thought sure you’d twig to it, Trish. (See what I did there? Oh, I love it when I’m bi-lingual! 😀 ) Yes, I’m sure you are familiar with Mary Poppins (a series I absolutely loved as a child), but sometimes these things lurk just out of sight in a corner of our brains, refusing to stand up and be counted. 😉 NEXT time, my friend! 😀

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    • Apparently not many folks remembered Cherry-Tree Lane, though to be sure, most of you guys are too young to remember the books. But I’m sure most of you know who Mary Poppins is, and have probably seen the movie at one point or another. (If not, you should. It’s a delight.)

      I am going to TRY to get back to regular Friday’s with this, but it depends on my schedule. It might be irregular for a wee bit longer. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

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        • I have the fondest of memories of reading the books when I was a kid, Mae. They were simply magical. 🙂 And the movie was a delight, as well. But alas. Poor Cherry-Tree Lane seems to have been lost in the mists of time. 😥

          Still, it was fun to see who remembered, and I’m sure there were several who gave themselves a head smack for forgetting. 😀 We’ll see what happens next time. (I’m aiming for Friday, but I’m also in the middle of editing stuff, and may or may not find time to make it happen this week. I’ll TRY, though, as I enjoy so much.)

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  6. I intended to get by here last Friday. Not sure what happened with the weekend (except it went by too fast)!

    When I read the opening line, I knew it was familiar, but you stumped me again! 🙂 One of these days, I’ll get it.

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    • I knew this would either be instantly familiar, or ring just enough of a bell to drive folks batty. 😀 But I also knew there wouldn’t likely be a single person who wasn’t familiar with Mary Poppins, even if they’d never read the books as a child or seen the movie. (Which, btw, is lovely.) And I know Fridays are a busy day, so not everyone can swing by before 4:00, but I still LOVE presenting these opening lines for us to ponder. Some are just amazing, and others kinda leave us scratching our heads, but all of them have something to teach us. I’m glad you made it by. Thanks for taking the time to comment, too. 🙂

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