'Alcoholism, terminal illness, suicide, infidelity and a self-obsessed couple of writers marooned on a barren island in the Aegean. What’s not to love if you’re a writer writing about writers and inspired by the grand tradition of Greek tragedy?' (Introduction)
'Sydney has for generations been well served by dutiful Englishmen: Governor Arthur Phillip with his understanding of convict servitude; governor Lachlan Macquarie, who brooked little snobbery and gave the town its initial architectural base; and in our time Edmund Capon who, as director of the Art Gallery of NSW for 33 years, enlarged and greatly broadened its cultural and civic influence.' (Introduction)
