Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. Today, I’m sorry—but maybe not surprised– to say we have no winners. While I was hoping I’d be wrong, I was also thinking this would be a super tough one, even though it made several of my official Top 100 Opening Lines lists. It’s one classic I admit I haven’t read, either, but I did see the movie some years ago. Didn’t help me recognize the line one bit. 🙄
“He was an inch, perhaps two, under six feet, powerfully built, and he advanced straight at you with a slight stoop of the shoulders, head forward, and a fixed from-under stare which made you think of a charging bull.” is the opening line of Lord Jim, written by Joseph Conrad in 1900. (Conrad was also the author of Heart of Darkness, which has been made into several movies, including the 1979 adaptation retitled Apocalypse, Now, starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duval, and Martin Sheen.
Lord Jim was originally published as a serial in Blackwood’s Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. In 1965, Lord Jim was made into a film directed by Richard Brooks and starring Peter O’Toole as Jim.
An early and primary event in the story is the abandonment of a passenger ship in distress by its crew, including a young British seaman named Jim. He is publicly censured for this action and the novel follows his later attempts at coming to terms with himself and his past.
The opening event in Lord Jim may have been based in part on an actual abandonment of a ship. On July 17, 1880, S.S. Jeddah sailed from Singapore bound for Penang and Jeddah, with 778 men, 147 women and 67 children on board. The passengers were Muslims from the Malay states, travelling to Mecca on a holy pilgrimage. The Jeddah sailed under the British flag and was crewed largely by British officers. After rough weather conditions, the ship began taking on water. The hull sprang a large leak, the water rose rapidly, and the captain and officers abandoned the heavily listing ship. They were picked up by another vessel and taken to Aden where they told a story of violent passengers and a foundering ship. The pilgrims were left to their fate, and apparently certain death. However, on August 8, 1880 a French steamship towed Jeddah into Aden – the pilgrims had survived. An official inquiry followed, as it does in the novel.
In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Lord Jim 85th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
WHAT AMAZON SAYS:
A bold young English sailor has despised himself ever since an impulsive moment of cowardice. Jim moves East to Patusan, where natives worship him-and he may be able to find redemption…
Buy Lord Jim HERE:
And that wraps up this week’s quiz, folks! Again, sorry I couldn’t give away any downloads, but I’m still happy to be sharing a book I love with folks who may not have heard of it yet.
#FirstLineFriday will be back in two weeks, and I’ll try to have something that rings a bell with more of you. Maybe. You never can tell. 😀
The Write Stuff 
I recognized the phrase – I just couldn’t associate it with the book. Too many years since I was in high school and mandatory reading. LOL. Great book, great story, great thoughts.
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So glad you enjoyed the challenge, Bob, but sorry you couldn’t pull that line forward this time. It would have been fun to have had a winner. It’s one of the classics I somehow managed NOT to read in school, but I couldn’t remember a thing about the movie, either. 🙄 No matter what, I think it’s a terrific first line! 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
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Oh, it was Lord Jim, huh? I thought there was something familiar about the line. I had to read this in school. I didn’t care for it much, so that’s probably why I didn’t remember the line very well.
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Yep. Even if the book wasn’t as great as the Modern Library thinks, you have to admit, it’s a killer first line. I can’t weigh in on the book, as I’ve never read it, and I can’t even weigh in on the movie, as it’s been way too many years since I’ve seen it, and I don’t remember a thing. *head smack* But kudos for you for having read this one, even if it wasn’t one you enjoyed very much. And thanks for stopping by today. I promise next week is going to be a real GIMME. Okay, maybe not, but it won’t be as hard as this one. 😀 Honest.
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*Slaps Forehead. Of course, it is Lord Jim. But hey, I never read it.
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😀 😀 😀 Me, either, John, so I didn’t recognize it at all. However, I’ve certainly heard of it, and I did see the movie with Peter O’Toole about a kajillion years ago. Still didn’t help. 😀 But I do think it’s a great first line, and it makes me want to read the book now. (The good thing about books: they’re ready when we are!) 😀
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That is a good thing about books, Marcia.
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😊
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Not read the book but I’m tempted now. Fascinating to read about the true incident which may have inspired it. Looking forward to the next of these and, as I’ve said, the difficulty makes these first line challenges a competition worth winning. 😀
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I’m glad you’re enjoying them, Trish. I know this line really impressed me, and I’m adding Lord Jim to my TBR stack, for sure. I want to see if the rest of Conrad’s writing measures up to the start! 😀
Thanks for stopping by, and I’m pretty sure next time, the line will be more familiar to at least some folks. Hope to see you here then. 🙂 ❤
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Im sure I read this decades ago, lols 😂. Thanks for the fun, Marcia. Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
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I saw the movie decades ago, for sure, but had no clue as to the line. I just loved it so much, I had to run it. Thanks for stopping by, and here’s hoping you have a great weekend, too! 🙂
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First Lines! “I’ll get you, my pretties!” *cackles*
I’ve missed you, lady. Fun fact: I’m not getting notifications for your posts. I’m going to unfollow and refollow. 🙂 See you on the flip side.
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Oh, I hope that resolves the problem, Sarah! (Says she, as she cackles back, “And yer little dog, tooo!”
😀 😀 😀
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🤔 I feel it would be best for both of us if we stay away from water for a spell.
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Sounds like a plan to me, and as it happens, Mark is working on our shower right now, so the timing is perfect for me to stay dry. 😀
Please let me know if you don’t start receiving blog alerts as you should. 😀 You’ve been missed!
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Will do. Thanks. ❤ Stay dry, lovely lady.
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