It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love. Call me Ishmael. The right opening line can make the hairs on the back of your head stand up. They are quoted, stitched into samplers, made into posters. Immortal. Just as bewitching though, is the right last line. If the opener entices us, and gives us a sense of the bounty to come, then the closer is the final thought…
