This week's competition, in which you have to identify a book from its opening sentence, is from a novel by a Scot about a Leicester in Warwickshire:
"It is the privilege of tale-tellers to open their story in an inn, the free rendezvous of all travellers, and where the humour of each displays itself, without ceremony or restraint."
The winner receives a £20 book token and the closing date is February 2.
Entries should be sent to
First Impressions
The THES
Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield
London E1 9XY
faxed to 0171-782 3300
or emailed to theschat@thes.co.uk
The winner of last week's competition, who correctly identified Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms , J. B. Cookson of Cropston, Leicestershire