The Wool-Pack facts for kids
Front cover of the first edition
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| Author | Cynthia Harnett |
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| Illustrator | Cynthia Harnett |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's historical novel |
| Publisher | Methuen |
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Publication date
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25 October 1951 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 184 pp (first edition) |
| OCLC | 621582 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H228 Wo PZ7.H228 Ni |
The Wool-Pack is a children's historical novel written and illustrated by Cynthia Harnett, published by Methuen in 1951. It was the first published of four children's novels that Harnett set in 15th-century England. She won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising it as the year's best children's book by a British subject.
G. P. Putnam's Sons published the first U.S. edition in 1953, entitled Nicholas and the Wool-Pack: an adventure story of the Middle Ages. In 1984 it was reissued under yet another title, The Merchant's Mark (Minneapolis: Lerner). Both American editions retained Harnett's illustrations.
A television miniseries based on the story was broadcast by the BBC in 1970.
Plot summary
Set in the Cotswolds near Burford, Oxfordshire, The Wool-Pack begins in 1493 when Nicholas Fetterlock, the twelve-year-old son of a rich wool merchant, learns from his father that he is betrothed to Cecily Bradshaw, the daughter of a rich cloth merchant. Within the guild, Nicholas discovers the work of swindlers who could ruin his father's business. Nicholas, Cecily, and a friend determine to stop them.
Adaptation
The Wool Pack was adapted by the BBC as a 90-minute film entitled A Stranger on the Hills, televised in 1970 as a three-part series for children. It starred Raymond Millross as Nicholas Fetterlock, with Godfrey Quigley and Thelma Barlow as his parents. The series was filmed by the BBC in Bristol.
