A literature review of late and post Variscan basins in NW Europe has been carried out, and a fully referenced and extensive bibliography is presented. A review of literature on the rather long and complex Variscan orogenic cycle is followed by a consideration of such aspects  as  the  influence  of  basement  structure,  orogenic  collapse,  palaeotopography  and palaeoclimate on the development of late Carboniferous-early Permian basins in the area of interest.