★ 08/12/2019
British editor Maiklem plumbs the archaeological history of the Thames River through unearthed remnants discovered on its banks in her engrossing debut. Taking up mudlarking—scavenging for hidden treasures—Maiklem “tunes in to the voices of the past.” She explains the river’s tidal effects—for example, that “the height between low and high water at London Bridge varies from between 15 and 22 feet”—and has learned the tidal table of each shore access point. When the tide goes out, she unearths jewelry, pottery, buttons, pipes, combs, armor, medals, and clothing. In Tidal Head, she uncovers a stopper to a Victorian Codd bottle, which sealed fizzy drinks; she then recalls that the oldest stopper she found was a clay, Roman-era olive oil stopper made in Naples. “The objects that are hidden in the mud at Greenwich fill in the details that are missing from history books,” she writes. There, she uncovers cooking pots and dishes that were used in the nearby 16th-century palace of Henry VIII, and surmises that “he held extravagant entertainments,” while explaining how the meals must have been prepared and served. This thoroughly fascinating look at treasure hunting along the banks of the Thames also serves as an astute history lesson. (Nov.)
"Driven by curiosity, freighted with mystery and tempered by chance, wonders gleam from every page."
"Her expeditions and the objects they yield — including hatpins, hand-blown glass bottles, buttons and the occasional precious stone — provide a rambling, idiosyncratic, fascinating guide to the city's history.... Readers will learn much from one mudlark's generous offer of the knowledge she has picked up – a mosaic of different pieces, much like her treasures themselves. Those who live near tidal bodies of water, or even in London itself, may be inspired to do a bit of mudlarking on their own."
"A beautifully written memoir of one woman's relationship with the sacred Thames and the ghosts of its past. Lara Maiklem's book on mudlarking is as deep and as rich as the Thames and its treasures. Fascinating."
"Mudlark is [Maiklem’s] engrossing front-line report from 'a world of escapees and obsessives' who think nothing of scaling the perilous riverside ladders at odd hours, dressed in waterproofs and latex gloves, on the lookout for whatever traces of the past the river might spit up.... It’s a riveting crash course not only in the history of London from prehistoric times to the present, but also in urban geography and how to read a living environment from organic clues."
"Unexpectedly compelling. . . . On the surface, this book advances knowledge of an era, a time when the Thames was home to centuries of trash, bodies, various ‘oops,’ and whatever washed into it from the land. What Maiklem finds is mostly mundane, yet fascinating for the sheer unending quantity — thousands of pins and clay pipestems — but also for the glimpse of culture provided by a shard of pottery or a coin rubbed thin by too much commerce. . . . You’re left with the wonderful gift of knowing more than you did when you began the book, but also a yearning to wander one of Lake Superior’s beaches, looking for agates or rusty bolts or antlers or key chains or sea glass. Because as much as it’s fun to find something, the real satisfaction is in the getting away."
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Kim Ode
"The sense of discovery, of finding forgotten objects, is captured superbly in Maiklem’s debut.... Maiklem positions the River Thames as a narrator, which only offers up some of its stories in a piecemeal fashion. The parts that are revealed, however, make for a captivating read."
"This engrossing memoir evokes the subculture of the ‘mudlarks,’ who scour the banks for fragments of London’s past. Their discoveries serve as entry points into the history of the river and its environs."
"[An] enthralling and evocative history of London and its people."
Bookseller “Book of the Month”
"Lara Maiklem reveals to us the fascinating and poignant micro-world of London's history; the fragments of life deposited on the tidal shores of the Thames. [Mudlark] is a flowing river of human stories; beautiful, wondrous and eternal."
2019-09-15
The author takes us on a tour from the end of the tidal Thames at Teddington down to the estuary at Lower Hope Point. As she notes, the tides dictate the course of her investigations. A mudlark, someone who "scavenges for usable debris in the mud of a river or harbor," must know all of the permutations of the tides throughout the year. The author's discoveries range from Roman coins to the ubiquitous clay pipes and pieces of tile and pottery to unexploded ordnance from World War II. Mudlarks are easy to spot, with their dirty boots, knee pads, latex gloves, and waterproof suits smeared with mud. Maiklem explains how they rely on luck but also have the patience and time to devote to their craft. Their best guides, she writes, are old maps, especially the Agas map of 1561, which presents a wealth of clues to population activity. Barge beds, wharves, and revetments deteriorate, dislodging the domestic refuse and rubble that filled them, an ever changing source of both banal and intriguing items. Some mudlarks use metal detectors while others dig. After the tides expose her finds, the author has to properly identify and preserve them; if they dry too fast, they could crumble. The author also discusses the role of government in her endeavor, as a permit is necessary and discoveries must be reported to the Museum of London. In 1957, the Natural History Museum declared the river biologically dead, and the cleanup has been ongoing ever since. In the 1970s, fish returned to the river, but there are still dangerous microbes lurking, and London's storm drains dump raw sewage into the river after heavy rains. Throughout the narrative, Maiklem's imagination and infectious enthusiasm make for a lovely fantasy world where "the tiniest of objects…tell the greatest stories."
Entertaining reading for British history buffs and budding archaeologists.
