Mudlark
In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames
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4.5 • 11 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Engrossing . . . evokes the subculture of the ‘mudlarks,’ who scour the banks for fragments of London’s past.”—The New Yorker
The international bestseller that mesmerizingly charts quixotic journeys through London’s past, Mudlark thrills Anglophiles and history lovers alike. Long heralded as a city treasure herself, beloved “Mudlark” Lara Maiklem tirelessly treks along the Thames’ muddy shores, unearthing a myriad of artifacts and their stories—from Roman hairpins and perfectly preserved Tudor shoes to the clay pipes that were smoked in riverside taverns. Seamlessly interweaving reflections from her own life with meditations on the art of wandering, Maiklem ultimately delivers a treatise “as deep and as rich as the Thames and its treasures” (Stanley Tucci).
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Every day, ancient treasures wash up on the banks of London’s River Thames—and in Lara Maiklem’s sprightly memoir, we get to pore over them ourselves. Maiklem is a mudlark: a treasure hunter who visits the Thames at low tide to pick through objects churned up by the currents over a thousand years of history. During her excursions, she discovers everything from huge Georgian copper coins to a Victorian ale flagon, which she eventually traces all the way back to its original owner. Maiklem leads us on her adventures with a delightfully personal writing style, vividly describing her finds and the excitement of researching the histories behind the artifacts. Her quirky enthusiasm is so endearing that it left us wondering what fascinating objects lie beneath our own feet.
