In this insightful book, Peter Edlund takes a status-based approach to theorizing the development of the European Research Council (ERC). Drawing upon rich empirical material, the author vividly details how the ERC was transformed from a funding organization into an authoritative status intermediary in European science. Edlund's innovative approach illustrates the ERC's path toward pre-eminence, building on a theoretical framework that the author uses to analyze evidence from Swedish and European contexts in an intriguing exploration of research funding allocated under the flagship Starting Grant scheme. Offering a field perspective on the multi-layered interactions between candidates and audiences within which the ERC was constructed as a status intermediary, this book redirects attention toward key antecedents that allow us to understand many of the extensive consequences generated by the ERC's funding. Blending theoretical models and empirical findings, Edlund's book will appeal to academics seeking advances in status theory. Practitioners and policymakers working with research funding will also benefit from its account of the historic development of the ERC and the consequences of its funding across Europe.