ELIZABETH ALLEN is Assistant Professor of English, University of California-Irvine, USA.

• Introduction: Questions From a Gestalt Moment PART I: PROMISE OF TRANSFORMATION Theory and Context Violence, Capital Flows and Bargaining Power Financial Globalisation, Debt Negotiations and Reform Negotiating Economic Justice: Globalisation or Socialism? Revolution at a Bargain? PART II: FRUSTRATIONS OF MARKET RULE Globalist and Non-Sexist? Negotiating Democracy Conclusion: The Failure of Transformation

" Elizabeth Allen makes a compelling case for medieval reading as a dynamic, ethical activity. Arguing that exemplary stories elicited responses that required "ongoing adjustments to the contingencies of political (as well as social and literary) occasion," she deftly analyzes the cultural function of medieval narrative. False Fables and Exemplary Truth is a sophisticated and thoughtful book that refines the subject of late medieval exemplarity in important and insightful ways. It will become required reading for every scholar interested in this crucial subject." - Rebecca Krug, University of Minnesota