This volume investigates the commercial operations and personal lives of the Cely family, a prominent group of wool merchants in late 15th-century England. Alison Hanham, a scholar specializing in medieval records, provides a meticulous transcription and analysis of the surviving correspondence. The work argues that these letters serve as a vital primary source for understanding the economic mechanics of the wool trade and the social dynamics of the merchant class during the Yorkist period.

Historians and medievalists regard this collection as a foundational resource for the study of 15th-century English commerce. Scholars frequently note the academic rigor of Hanham's editorial work and the clarity it brings to the often-obscure records of the period.