Epigraphs

A few months ago Books and Quills (Sanne) filmed this videoabout her favorite epigraphs, which got me hunting through all my books on the search for mine. Like Sanne, I found most of my books didn't have any, but a fair few did!

Here are some of my favorites:

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent A Town Like Aliceby Nevil Shute, Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman, The Strange Case of DR Jekyll and MR Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, Hitler's Canary by Sandi Toksvig, My Family and other Animals by Gerald Durrell, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesy.

I really like the way that epigraphs can give extra insight into a book, often in a way you don't really appreciate until you come back to them after you've read the book. I like to think that you can get a tiny glimpse into the author's inspiration. They can also nicely sum up a theme or plot. I found reading many of these epigraphs quickly brought some of my favorite books back to life, reminding me of messages, and sometimes wider contexts, that made me fall in love with them in the first place.

Do you have any favorite epigraphs?