Lara Maiklem

Mudlarking is the act of scavenging in the mud for items discarded by past generations of Londoners. from Neolithic flints to Roman hair pins, medieval shoe buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes to discarded war medals.

Lost and Found on the River Thames

Mudlarking

Jade Flynn

The act of mudlarking is a type of time-travel where objects kept secret by the Thames decide that it's time to share their story and reveal London's hidden history. Sounds great, right? And it was for the most part but some chapters were clearly more interesting than others and by the end something about the writing style made it seem extremely repetitive. But did it make me want to try mudlarking myself? Yes.

'Fascinating. Mudlarks are river scavengers, but Lara Maiklem is more like a time traveller' Guardian Mudlark (/'mAdla;k/) noun A person who scavenges for usable debris in the mud of a river or harbour Lara Maiklem has scoured the banks of the Thames for nearly twenty years, in pursuit of the objects the river unearths: from Neolithic flints to Roman hairpins, medieval buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes to Victorian toys. What began as a search for solitude came to reveal the story of a city, its people and their lost ways of life. *The No. 2 Sunday Times bestseller and the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, now with full colour images* 'Enchanting . . . I am quite tempted to join Maiklem on the riverbed looking for treasure' Sunday Times 'Reveals to us the fascinating and poignant micro-world of London's history' Hallie Rubenhold, Baillie Gifford Prize-winning author of The Five 'No one has looked at these odd corners since Sherlock Holmes' Sunday Telegraph 'A quirky and delightful read, wonderfully evocative of London's gloopy, ghost-haunted river' Daily Mail WINNER OF THE 2020 INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION

Mudlarking Lost and Found on the River Thames

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