This has to be one of my most favourite non-fiction books. I'm in love with it
Mudlarking - Lost and Found on the River Thames by Lara Maiklem.
I actually stumbled upon the activity of Mudlarking while idling watching YouTube history channels one lazy afternoon. I have always loved English history, not the least because some of my DNA hails from old Blighty, but also because the history is so ancient.
Mudlarking, it turns out, is an old London profession - the kind of thing you did if you were desperately trying to avoid the poorhouse or the debtors prison. People waded deep into the mud of the Thames river to find treasures that might hold value and could be sold. Things like copper plates from the bottom of ships or old coins. Nowadays, it is a hobby for some people. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to the finds that Mudlarkers discover in the mud on the sides of the river Thames in London.
But this book is one of my favourite books because Lara Maiklem takes you on an intimate journey with the Thames, and I love her writing style. The Thames is a whole ecological sanctuary in the heart of one of the world's busiest cities, with diverse birdlife, riverboat activities and people whose lives intertwine with the rise and fall of the tide.
Lara not just introduces us to the river, but also to the people who mudlark - a diverse and interesting bunch, but also to the people of the city who lived here a hundred years ago, or five hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago and the fragments of their lives that were cast or lost in the river, only to resurface again years later. Lara brings their stories and their personalities alive.
I love this book. It's a treasure.
Listen to me read the first 5 minutes of the opening chapter.
For an introduction to Mudlarking, watch Lara talk about it here.
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