18 May 2018

First Line Fridays 28: Leopards and Lillies by Alfred Duggan

Today I am featuring a book I purchased a few years ago because it related to something I was working on at the time, but did not get around to reading. The author Alfred Duggan was a 'British historian, archeologist and novelist' who died in 1964. He was described as 'one of the best historical novelists' of his century.

Leopards and Lilies is one of his less well known novels, and is out of print except as some older versions, my edition dates from 1975. It small, creased, yellowed, and has a slight hint of that musty book smell.
It bears a mention here that none of this author's books were not explicitly Christian, but they did reflect the religious beliefs and convictions of the periods in which they were set, which in the case of his Medieval novels, would have been Catholic. 
I've also found that novels written before the 1960s tend to me more on the clean side (though not always). 



The first line is rather long, written in the old fashioned style. In fact, I'm going to share the first two lines, because I think the second is interesting too. I hope its not too much to read:

"For more than ten years, since the King returned in defeat from Normandy , England had been restless; order never quite broke down, but in castles and walled towns there had been gatherings of armed men, blustering and exaggerating their strength to overawe their opponents, then dispersing to meet again at some other stronghold of faction. 
Now at last the crisis had come and passed; in may the Exchequer closed and the judges ceased to sit, an official acknowledgement that the country was at war; then in June the King met his enemies in a meadow between Windsor and London, granted all their demands, and to everyone's surprise appeared to be keeping the engagement he had sealed"

Well, that's my rather wordy contribution for the day. 
Now share your own first line or click the button to see what others in the group are reading. 

https://hoardingbooksblog.wordpress.com/category/first-line-fridays/

16 comments:

  1. Happy Friday!

    “‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’” No, I'm not reading Pride and Prejudice (again), but am reading a retelling by Debra White Smith: First Impressions.

    Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Oh, I've heard of those. Must be one of the most famous first lines in literary history.

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  2. Happy Friday!😎

    My First Line comes from a book I'm reading now, The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark.....

    If loneliness were a color, it would be the deep purple of my eight year old's shirt as he walks solitary laps around the school track.

    Have a great weekend and happy reading!😊📚📚

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    1. Awww, that's kinda sad. Poor kid.

      Happy Friday

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  3. There is certainly something special about that old book smell! Have a nice weekend!

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    1. Just as long as its not mildew or mould. They can be pretty dangerous :(
      Happy Friday

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  4. Happy Friday! My first line is from Robin Mason’s The Silent Song of Winter.

    ” The sounds of the swamp in winter would scare another person but not me.”

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    1. Oh yes, I have heard of Robin's books. I think the very idea of swamps in winter would scare me. I'm a wimp.

      Happy Friday.

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  5. Happy Friday!

    Today, I am showcasing Karen Barnett's novel Where the Fire Falls (#2 in her Shadows of the Wilderness series) over on my blog. Here I will share the first lines from chapter 2.

    "Clark grunted as he jostled the bags under his arm and clambered up the stairs. At her disposal? First change he got, he'd be setting this little minx straight."

    Have a great weekend!

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    Replies
    1. Oh wow. That's not at all what I thought. I imagined Biblical Fiction with a title like that.

      Happy Friday.

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  6. Happy Friday!
    The book I'm sharing this week on my blog is Grace in Strange Disguise but here I'll share from The Calling of Emily Evans by Janette Oke, which is the book I featured for my Memorable Monday post this week: "Emily Evans lifted a slender hand and pushed back a wisp of wayward brown hair." Have a great weekend! :)

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    1. Oh course, I've heard of Janette Oke, just never read anything by her. Which might be a shameful thing to admit.

      Happy Weekend

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  7. It's fun to be extra wordy sometimes ;) I'm currently reading Where the Fire Falls by Karen Barnett. Here are the first couple of lines from chapter 10...
    "Clark strode into the Glacier Point Hotel. A burning sensation simmered in his gut, like his best campfire stew straight from the pot."

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  8. I'm sharing from a favorite re-read on my blog, but I'll share from my current read here - a novel set in the 1920’s, Ramble and Roar by Catie Cordero:

    “I wasn’t looking for death. It found me. That’s what I tell myself.”

    Happy Friday!

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  9. I think historical novels often need these longer first lines to set the scene in terms of both time and place. It works for this novel!

    My blog post today is sharing the first line of The Theory of Happily Ever After by Kristen Billerbeck. I'm currently reading Criss Cross by CC Warrens, which is all suspense:

    The ominous sound of something scraping across the cement behind me raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

    Have a great weekend!

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  10. Happy Saturday! And happy Royal Wedding day!

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I like to hear from readers, so feel free to leave a comment!

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