The Merchant's Mark is a mystery set in England in 1493, against a rich historical background of a family involved in the wool industry. The author weaves much detail about the wool and cloth trades into the story. Many traditions, celebrations and religious practices are also included, giving the reader a very nice picture of life at that time - particularly their strong Catholic culture. This might be a good book to read alongside a study of Christopher Columbus. Not only does the story take place at the time of his voyage, but the information about the cloth trade is interesting because Columbus came from a cloth-making family.