First Impressions

This week's competition, in which you have to identify a book from its opening sentence, is from a story turned into an opera by Benjamin Britten:

"The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as on Christmas Eve in an old house a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to note it as the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child."

* Entries, including postal address, should be sent to First Impressions, The Times Higher , Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1W 1BX, faxed to 020 7782 3300 or emailed to theschat@thes.co.uk

The winner receives a £25 book voucher. The closing date is March 14.

The winner of last week's competition, who identified Mary Seacole's Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole , was Diana Wallace of Glamorgan University.

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