Ahem. Jonathan, I got Paradise Lost, which I also thought glaringly obvious.
xx Jane
Jane: You're right. I grovel.
I knew three for sure (including Paradise Lost, to which Dickens makes reference in the beautiful ending of Little Dorrit, which is my favourite of his novels) and my guesses on a couple of the others were accurate as it turns out. But I did find the list a fascinating piece in its own right -- it shows you the possibilities for, and also perhaps the limitations on, how a novel can conclude. Now I think you should write a post on that (but that's just me).
Cassandra: here's a comment in lieu of the desired blog entry. I thought so too. The David Ireland sentence made it because early in the book the narrator signals his intention of concluding the novel with that phrase, but has no idea how he's going to do it. But others managed to evoke a tremendous amount of the book.
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