Marshland

A genre-straddling classic of contemporary place writing: "Marshland is essential reading—a psychedelic trip into London's secret wilderness." —John Rogers, author of This Other London

Cocker spaniel by his side, Rees wanders the marshes of Hackney, Leyton and Walthamstow, avoiding his family and the pressures of life. He discovers a lost world of Victorian filter plants, ancient grazing lands, dead toy factories and tidal rivers on the edgelands of a rapidly changing city. Ghosts are his friends. As strange tales of bears, crocodiles, magic narrowboats and apocalyptic tribes begin to manifest themselves, Rees embarks on a psychedelic journey across time and into the dark heart of London.


It soon becomes clear that the very existence of this unique landscape is at threat. For on all sides of the marshland, the developers are closing in . . .

Marshland is a deep map of the East London marshes, a blend of local history, folklore and weird fiction, where nothing is quite as it seems.


This book contains striking illustrations from artist Ada Jusic.


This fully revised and expanded 2024 edition features brand-new material and never before-seen photographs from the author's archive.


"This idiosyncratic bumbleburst of local history, folklore and informed creativity captures the marshes as vividly as any book ever could." —The Londonist

"Whatever it is, New Weird, Cryptozoology, Psychogeography, or Deep Map, Marshland is simply essential reading for anyone engaged in locality, the literature of place, the sociology of hinterlands, the pressure points between the human and the natural or just lovers of darned good writing." —Caught by the River