Mudlark: In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames

by Lara Maiklem

Overview

“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.” —Elizabeth Lowry, Wall Street Journal

As seen on TED.com • "Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames"
Apple Books • Best Books of the Month
BBC Radio 4 • Book of the Week
A Bookseller Book of the Month

A quixotic journey through London’s past, Mudlark plumbs the banks of the Thames to reveal the stories hidden behind the archaeological remnants of an ancient city.

Long heralded as a city treasure herself, expert “mudlarker” Lara Maiklem is uniquely trained in the art of seeking. Tirelessly trekking across miles of the Thames’ muddy shores, where others only see the detritus of city life, Maiklem unearths evidence of England’s captivating, if sometimes murky, history—with some objects dating back to 43 AD, when London was but an outpost of the Roman Empire. From medieval mail worn by warriors on English battlefields to nineteenth-century glass marbles mass-produced for the nation’s first soda bottles, Maiklem deduces the historical significance of these artifacts with the quirky enthusiasm and sharp-sightedness of a twenty-first century Sherlock Holmes.

Seamlessly interweaving reflections from her own life with meditations on the art of wandering, Maiklem ultimately delivers—for Anglophiles and history lovers alike—a memorable treatise on the objects we leave in our wake, and the stories they can reveal if only we take a moment to look.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631494963
Publisher:	Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publication date:	11/05/2019
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Featured in the Guardian and on the BBC and NPR for her work as the “London Mudlark,” Lara Maiklem lives on the Kent coast, close to the Thames Estuary, and visits the river as regularly as the tides permit.

Table of Contents

Maps x

Mudlark 1

Tidal Head 7

Hammersmith 21

Vauxhall 43

Trig Lane 65

Bankside 91

Queenhithe 117

London Bridge 139

Tower Beach 163

Rotherhithe 185

Wapping 205

Greenwich 229

Tilbury 255

Estuary 275

Acknowledgements 295

Select Bibliography 299

Index 307

Editorial Reviews

"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."— Elizabeth Lowry, Wall Street Journal

"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."— Kim Ode Minneapolis Star Tribune

"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."— Katie Noah Gibson, Shelf Awareness

"This thoroughly fascinating look at treasure hunting along the banks of the Thames also serves as an astute history lesson."— Publishers Weekly [starred review]

"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."— The New Yorker

"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."— Brian Renvall, Library Journal

"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."— Kirkus Reviews

"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."— Stanley Tucci

"Driven by curiosity, freighted with mystery and tempered by chance, wonders gleam from every page."— Melissa Harrison, author of All Among The Barley

"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."— Hallie Rubenhold

"[An] enthralling and evocative history of London and its people."— Bookseller “Book of the Month”

From the Publisher

2019-09-15
British editor Maiklem shares her obsession with the treasures she has found in the mud of the River Thames.

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.

Kirkus Reviews