Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem

Read October 2019. published 22nd August 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Non-fiction.

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 over fifteen years, in pursuit of the objects that the river unearths: from Neolithic flints to Roman hair pins, medieval buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes to Victorian toys. These objects tell her about London and its lost ways of life.

Moving from the river's tidal origins in the west of the city to the point where it meets the sea in the east, Mudlarking is a search for urban solitude and history on the River Thames, which Lara calls the longest archaeological site in England.

As she has discovered, it is often the tiniest objects that tell the greatest stories.

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I love non-fiction books that delve into the history of ordinary folk, and I have particular fondness for them if they are also connected to London (the city of my birth), because we hear so much about the lives of the great and good (or bad!) but not often about how people like you or I actually lived. So when I heard that Lara Maiklem was writing a book about her years of mudlarking on the river Thames, I knew it was going to be one for me - especially as I have been following her Twitter feed and Instagram pages for some time.

Mudlarking takes us on a journey down the river Thames, from the tidal head around Richmond and Twickenham all the way to the Estuary. It covers the history and importance of the Thames and details of the artifacts that have been found along the foreshore - mainly by Lara Maiklem herself, over the fifteen years she has been searching for them. 

What makes this book so completely fascinating, and at times, poignant, is the way Lara Maiklem weaves the history of the great Thames with her own experiences out there on the foreshore, and the stories behind the objects she has found over the years. This really brings to life the way ordinary people lived and worked on and around the Thames. The book is very readable and full of so much interesting stuff that it is actually quite a page turner.

My one criticism of the book is that it really needs pictures as well as the fascinating text. Although, the end papers themselves are beautifully illustrated with drawings of many of the objects described and there are a couple of lovely maps of the Thames, I thought the lack of photographs was a shame - a few here and there would have enhanced the reading experience, rather than me having to break off every now and again to look something up in Google!

Having said that, the book itself is an absolute delight and I learnt so much from the information given in these pages. One of my favourite facts was learning about the "secret" statues that grace the river frontages of Vauxhall Bridge, which opened in 1906, as these are absolutely beautiful and I had no idea they were there - in fact, you can only really see them if you are travelling on the Thames by boat. 

The allegorical figures are twice life-size and were designed by two artists F.W. Pomeroy and Alfred Drury, who completed four each - Pomeroy completing the ones on the upstream side. The Pomeroy statues are of Agriculture, Architecture, Engineering and Pottery, and the Drury ones of Education, Fine arts, Science and Local Government. The Pomeroy ones are, for me, the most beautiful and Architecture is my absolute favourite, because she holds an amazing facsimile of St Paul's Cathedral in her hand. I am planning a trip to Vauxhall Bridge soon, so I can try to spot them "in the flesh".

This book is inspirational and will have you looking at what is under your feet the next time you are near a river! I am not at all surprised that this has become a Sunday Times Bestseller. Highly recommended!