by Michelle Douglas
Reading: America’s Star-Crossed Sweethearts by Jackie Braun
Watching: MASH reruns
Listening to: the warbling magpies gathered on our front veranda
Making me smile: Homemade fruitcake
And hand in hand on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
This is the final stanza of the poem The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. Back in January I blogged about my brand new calendar—the fun, the whimsy and the love story that is The Owl and the Pussycat. And my calendar didn’t let me down. It brightened my months. It made me smile. It was my muse. And, as in all good romances, the owl and the pussycat live happily ever after.
“They danced by the light of the moon.” Don’t you think that’s the most wonderful line with which to end a romance?
Which started me thinking…
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a first line may draw a reader into your story, but a last line will have them rushing out to buy your next book.
We have a tendency to remember first lines (as in the one above that I’ve pilfered and corrupted from Pride and Prejudice), but what about last lines? Who remembers the last line(s) of Pride and Prejudice?
I don’t remember the first line in Georgette Heyer’s The Grand Sophy, but I can recall the final exchange vividly:
“Charles!” uttered Sophy, shocked. ‘You cannot love me!”
Mr Rivenhall pulled the door to behind them, and in a very rough fashion jerked her into his arms, and kissed her. “I don’t: I dislike you excessively!” he said savagely.
Entranced by these lover-like words, Miss Stanton-Lacy returned his embrace with fervour, and meekly allowed herself to be led off to the stables.”
Oh, it has just the perfect tone for all that preceded it! I am so jealous.
As I stare at my The Owl and the Pussycat calendar and December’s gorgeous picture with that final line—They danced by the light of the moon—I realise I would love all my stories to end on such an uplifting and satisfying note.
They danced by the light of the moon.
Do you know any noteworthy last lines?
