Okay, folks. It’s all over but the accolades! This one turned out to be even harder than I expected, but we had two winners: Mae Clair and Robbie Cheadle. Congratulations to them on winning a download of one of my books for themselves or someone else of their choice, or a credit for a free download of my next book. 

For future contests, I need to remind you folks NOT TO RESPOND IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST ON THE BLOG. Please email me only! (If you respond publicly, others see the answer and the contest is spoiled.) Thanks so much for adhering to that rule.

I promise to go easy on you next Friday with an opening line that won’t be quite as much of a challenge, but for this week, here’s your answer.

“The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.”

Answer: This is the first line of Stephen Crane’s classic American Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Lest you think I was giving those in the U.S. an edge, it was also made into an internationally acclaimed film in 1951, starring Audie Murphy, and remade as a successful TV movie in 1974, starring Richard Thomas of The Waltons. 

Because it was an older book than even Fahrenheit 451, I knew it would be a bit more difficult, but I didn’t expect it to be quite as hard as it was. It is, after all, still being sold in bookstores and on Amazon, and I believe there are audio books out as well. It’s also still being studied in some college courses.  See? Classic. 🙂

I DO promise to make next week’s quiz a bit easier on your gray cells, honest. And thanks for playing today. Hopefully #FirstLineFriday 3 just might be the one that makes you smile.

BLURB:

Amid the nightmarish chaos of a Civil War battle, a young soldier discovers courage, humility, and, perhaps, wisdom. Uncanny re-creation of actual combat. Enduring landmark of American fiction.

BUY THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE HERE