I recently discovered Liebrary, a board game based on first lines from famous (and not-so-famous) books. It’s similar to Balderdash, in which a player can gain points by guessing the correct definition of an obscure word or by making up a definition convincing enough to fool other players. Feeling inspired, I looked up the first lines of some well-known legal histories. Can you name each book? Click on the “answer” links to see if you’re right.“Although history has no beginning and, what is sometimes forgotten, no end, stories are different.” Answer
“Marriage is like the sphinx – a conspicuous and recognizable monument on the landscape, full of secrets.” Answer
“The colonial period is, for most lawyers and laymen, the dark ages of American law.” Answer
“On Bunker Hill Day, 1786, residents of Boston and Charlestown gathered to celebrate their new fortune.” Answer
“Healy’s Slough was so disgusting that Chicago aldermen found it difficult to describe.” Answer
“Before it was over, they fired him from the little schoolhouse at which he had taught devotedly for ten years.” Answer
“On July 4, 1839, angry tenant farmers on New York’s oldest estate assembled in the Albany County village of Berne to adopt a declaration of independence from their landlord.” Answer
Last – a personal favorite: “One day something pushed Lydia McGuire over the edge.” [*This is the first line of Chapter 1, not the introduction] Answer Hat Tip: GC clerks, 2007-08.Image: Liebrary
