“The play is over. Go home.”
This is the final line of the film Anastasia (1956) in which the actress playing the titular missing duchess’s grandmother summarizes to everyone more than simply that the movie has ended. This line is also playing on the fraud and questioning of reality played out throughout the film. As a kid, I liked this line because it was humorous and went along with the theme.
The final words of a book can be more difficult than a movie. You can’t simply show the audience how it is all over. You must spell it out for them. For my own list of great last lines, I’m choosing from books that I’ve personally read and that the final line of the book sums up the story well. I’m not going to explain any of these quotes becuase I don’t want to create spoilers. This list is also in no particular order.
1. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
"You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.”
2. Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
“At least there are new lakes in the clouds that open upon living cities as yet unknown, and perhaps forever, that is a question which you must answer within your own heart.”
3. Princess Bride by William Goldman
"I mean, I really do think that love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops. But I also have to say, for the umpty-umpth time, that life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.”
4. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
“In writing those last words, I have written all. The pen falters in my hand. The long, happy labour of many months is over. Marian was the good angel of our lives—let Marian end our Story.”
5. At the Back of the North Wind by Georg MacDonald
“I knew that he had gone to the back of the north wind.”
6. Lost Horizon by James Hilton
“Do you think he will ever find it?”
7. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
“I don’t have anything else to add. I just wanted to make sure I had the last word. I think I’ve earned that.”
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
"A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR. I am haunted by humans."