Mudlark: In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames [Hardcover]

A riveting crash course not only in the history of London from prehistoric times to the present, but also in urban geography and how to read a living environment from organic clues. Elizabeth Lowry, Unexpectedly compelling. . . . On the surface, this book advances knowledge of an era, a time when the Thames was home to centuries of trash, bodies, various oops, and whatever washed into it from the land. What Maiklem finds is mostly mundane, yet fascinating for the sheer unending quantity  thousands of pins and clay pipestems  but also for the glimpse of culture provided by a shard of pottery or a coin rubbed thin by too much commerce. . . . Youre left with the wonderful gift of knowing more than you did when you began the book, but also a yearning to wander one of Lake Superiors beaches, looking for agates or rusty bolts or antlers or key chains or sea glass. Because as much as its fun to find something, the real satisfaction is in the getting away. Her expeditions and the objects they yield -- including hatpins, hand-blown glass bottles, buttons and the occasional precious stone -- provide a rambling, idiosyncratic, fascinating guide to the city's history.... Readers will learn much from one mudlark's generous offer of the knowledge she has picked up  a mosaic of different pieces, much like her treasures themselves. Those who live near tidal bodies of water, or even in London itself, may be inspired to do a bit of mudlarking on their own. This thoroughly fascinating look at treasure hunting along the banks of the Thames also serves as an astute history lesson. This engrossing memoir evokes the subculture of the mudlarks, who scour the banks for fragments of Londons past. Their discoveries serve as entry points into the history of the river and its environs. The sense of discovery, of finding forgotten objects, is captured superbly in Maiklems debut.... Maiklem positions the River Thames as a narrator, which only offers up some of its stories in al£,