Traditionally, monastic reform in the tenth and eleventh centuries has been viewed as a set of changes introduced into individual houses by charismatic leaders operating from established centres. Some of the tenth-century changes have been thought of as short-term, necessitating a further wave of reform in the eleventh century. Since the 1980s there have been efforts to view these shifts in a less systemic way, and in this book Steven Vanderputten aims to move the discussion on much further by reminding readers that narratives of change focus on particular moments and individuals to give their accounts more drama and a better plot, whereas in practice the institutional changes took time to be established and it was often leaders in the second generation who did most of the work. In other words, reform is a process, not an event, and historians need to look at it over time. The points that the author seeks to inculcate could be widely applied across western Europe in this period, but the area dealt with here is carefully defined: the county of Flanders, and in particular the seven monasteries of Saint-Bertin, Saint-Vaast in Arras, St Peter's and St Bavo's in Ghent, Saint-Amand, Marchiennes and Bergues-Saint-Winnoc, which provide useful case studies. After an opening chapter explaining how later accounts would select people and events regarded as memorable, omitting or downplaying long stretches of time even where materials were available to describe what had happened, Vanderputten works through the material chronologically. Chapters ii–iii deal with reform in the tenth and early eleventh centuries: tenth-century changes were not short-term as often thought and the role of Count Arnulf i of Flanders emerges more emphatically than before, with Gerard of Brogne in a subordinate role. Apparent decline in the late tenth century is more an effect of later eleventh-century historiography; in practice this period, which began with a relative decline in the powers of the counts of Flanders, saw monasteries build up contacts with other rulers and with local landowners. These networks were also relied on by the next generation of monastic leaders, headed by Richard of Saint-Vanne in the 1010s. Serious consolidation, making the monasteries more effective spiritual institutions (‘prayer-machines’), was the work of a succeeding generation of abbots, notably Leduin at Saint-Vaast and Marchiennes, and this work consisted of building up estates, developing saints’ cults, especially through hagiography, and encouraging book production. The case for institutional change taking time is well-made, and in addition the book helps the reader to appreciate the effect of political developments, both inter-regional and local, on the history of individual institutions. Even so, some opportunities have been missed. The first of these is surely the concept of reform itself: nowhere in the book is there any discussion of the specific terminology used by Flemish sources to describe the process of change, though examining this is vital to any understanding of the aspects of change (possibly ‘reform’) that medieval authors were trying to emphasise. Secondly, although the contacts between Flemish and Anglo-Saxon religious leaders in the tenth century are discussed, this has been done carelessly. Folcuin's statement that Athelstan received exiles from Saint-Bertin in 944 (p. 34) needs unpicking in light of the fact that Athelstan had died in 939. Worse, Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester appears (twice) as Bishop Athelstan of Worcester on p. 66. There are also moments (e.g. p. 31) where Vanderputten needs to be more explicit about which historians he is taking issue with. But overall, and especially for its effective interpretation of the motives that led medieval monastic authors to choose their subject matter and story-lines, this is a book that will repay reading and re-reading.