From Norman Davies the acclaimed author of Europe: A History" comes the magical history of Europe's lost realms selected as a Book of the Year by the " Sunday Times" " Daily Telegraph" " New Statesman" " Independent" " Guardian" & " Financial Times". Europe's history is littered with kingdoms duchies empires & republics which have now disappeared but which were once fixtures on the map of their age. What happened to the once-great Mediterranean ' Empire of Aragon'? Where did the half-forgotten kingdoms of Burgundy go? Which current nations will one day become a distant memory too? This original & enthralling book peers through the cracks of history to discover the stories of lost realms across the centuries. " Dazzling provocative & brilliant". (Dominic Sandbrook " Sunday Times" Books of the Year). "A luminous account.. .there are few better ways of understanding the multilayered splendours & horrors of Europe's past than through the pages of this wise humane & unfailingly engaging book". (John Adamson " Sunday Telegraph"). "" Vanished Kingdoms" is great history & also great art. It is written with verve passion & profound empathy". (David Marquand " New Statesman" Books of the Year). "A magnificent achievement. Brocaded with scholarship the book is unlikely ever to be equalled". (Ian Thomson " Independent")."