Many people have helped to bring this book to its final form. Institutions have played no small part as well. Heartfelt thanks are due to all of them. Among the latter the largest share goes to King’s College London, my institutional base for almost all of my professional career, and to colleagues in the former Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, in the thriving Department of Classics and the Centre for Hellenic Studies. A book such as this cannot be written without extensive use of libraries – the ‘laboratories’ of the Humanities, as many of us like to think of them. The Maughan Library at King’s College London boasts the largest collection in Great Britain of Greek publications and of books and periodicals dedicated to Greece and the Greek world from the last two centuries and more, housed in the Burrows collection and the Foyle Special Collections Library. I cannot begin to estimate the hours and days spent working through these rich holdings, and I am particularly grateful to Teresa Elmes, Library Liaison Manager, and Katie Sambrook, Head of Special Collections, for all their personal support during the writing of this book, and indeed for far longer.
The other institution to which I owe a special debt is the British School at Athens, an institute for advanced research supported by the British Academy. I have been associated with the British School since I first went there as a postgraduate student in the 1970s. Its friendly hostel and the garden it shares with the American School of Classical Studies (truly an oasis in the heart of the modern city) provide a home from home for visiting scholars from all over the world. It was always a pleasure to go back there, while I was working on this book, to make use of the excellent and comfortable library (open all hours if you are fortunate enough to be resident) and to have a base for forays to other essential resources in Greece. Foremost among these is the Gennadius Library (the premier collection in the world for the subjects covered by this book, and just across the road from the British School). The libraries, resources and staff of several universities and research institutes in Greece and Cyprus have contributed too: among them the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Crete, the National Hellenic Research Foundation (Athens) and the University of Cyprus.
When it comes to personal debts, those incurred in the research and preparation for this book are far too numerous to name, and often came about unwittingly. A chance remark in conversation or a student’s question in a seminar can often have a resonance, long afterwards, that neither party might have recognized at the time. Not everyone who has contributed to the perspective on Greek history and culture developed in this book will necessarily find themselves in agreement with what I have written. On occasion, where the later chapters are concerned, I have had the privilege of speaking to participants in the story under ‘Chatham House rules’, which respect the privacy of such conversations.
The book in its final form, which I am proud to see published under the Penguin imprint, owes everything to the enthusiasm of my agent, Felicity Bryan, and of Simon Winder, commissioning editor at Allen Lane. Both seized upon my project at an early stage and have been unstinting, ever since, in their support, encouragement and advice. I have been particularly fortunate to have had eagle-eyed readers of earlier versions of my text: Simon Winder, himself a prolific writer of history books; Haris Vlavianos, who combines a day job as Professor of History at the American College of Greece with a public role as one of his country’s foremost poets; and my son Mike, who (unlike me) studied History for his first degree. Richard Mason brought to the task of copy-editing the final typescript an exemplary blend of tact, sensitivity to the style and subject matter of the book, and attention to detail. My thanks go also to Cecilia Mackay for much-needed professional help with the images. Needless to say, all remaining flaws, as well as the selection and interpretation of facts and opinions, are my own responsibility.
Roderick Beaton
King’s College London
August 2018