Mudlark
In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames
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4,5 • Оценок: 11
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- 13,99 $
От издателя
“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).
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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.
