The gift of narrative in medieval England

'Nicholas Perkins's book is itself a gift, in which the elusive phenomenon of the gifted object has found its ideal, answering intelligence: lucidly scrupulous, attuned as much to the book as gift as to the gift in books and ready to draw as much on anthropology as on the material history of the book. Like all gifts, it's radiant.'
James Simpson, Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English, Harvard University

'A wonderful exploration of the ways medieval romances circulate gifts, people, bodies and obligations that are both emotional and social. This incisive study develops the concept and practice of speculative anthropology, balancing theoretical insight with keen textual analysis.'
Stephanie Trigg, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor of English, University of Melbourne

The gift of narrative in medieval England places medieval narratives in dialogue with theories and practices of gift and exchange. It opens fresh approaches to questions of storytelling