ABSTRACT
This chapter delineates the physical and chronological boundaries of the book, focusing on the Aegean Islands and spanning the timeframe from the Palaeolithic era to the Mycenaean period. It discusses the inspiration for the book and additional reading available. The literary history of ‘islands’ reveals that they could both act as utopias and dystopias, as captured in book and film. The final section summarises the structure of the book and outlines briefly the contents of each chapter.
