Europe's small islands are wonderfully varied. Some are well known: the beautiful Bled Island in Slovenia attracts thousands of visitors. Others, like Snake Island, the subject of a lengthy dispute between Ukraine and Romania, are almost unheard of. The warm and welcoming Greek islands of Patmos and Spetses contrast with Solovetsky in Russia's White Sea, the scene of Stalin's gulag archipelago. There is the baroque bling of Italy's Isola Bella, far removed from St Kilda, where a hardy Celtic community struggled to harvest seabirds from its vertiginous cliffs. The urban chic of Paris's Ile Saint-Louis could not be more different to 'Europe's last feudal state' of Sark in the Channel Islands.

Illustrated with 140 stunning photographs, The Amazing Small Islands of Europe records forty islands, all with fascinating histories. There is much to delight the armchair traveller, together with practical information should he or she wish to visit them.