A Mudlarking Year by Lara Maiklem – Review
By David Schuster
Lara Maiklem is a magician, pulling beauty out of the ooze of the River Thames both literally and poetically. She takes what is clearly far more important to her than a hobby, and uses it as a framework into which she weaves tales of history, nature and human emotion. Maiklem does this with lyrical prose akin to the style of Betjeman, that brims with love for her surroundings and most especially the river. Given this, it’s no surprise that her debut publication, Mudlarking, became a Sunday Times bestseller. Her second publication, A Mudlarking Year, proves that she’s no one hit wonder by recapturing that magic.
The Cambridge dictionary defines mudlarking as, “The activity of searching the mud near rivers, trying to find valuable or interesting objects.” In the UK the term has become synonymous with those ragged unfortunates who, through the centuries, have scavenged along the banks of the Thames in order to survive. In more recent times, it has also become a description for those whose hobby is collecting items of interest, historic or monetary value on the riverbank. This is Lara’s passion, and one to which she has devoted a huge amount of time and energy over the last 15 years, often getting up before dawn in whatever conditions the British weather can throw at her.
Maiklem’s efforts have been rewarded by a plethora of interesting finds, including a 15th century pilgrim badge of St Osmund of Salisbury, a 16th century short sword and a fragment of a Roman ‘penis dog’. Yes, really. All of these the author diligently documents and records with PAS, the UK’s Portable Antiquities Scheme. As a result of her work, she has rightly been been elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
A Mudlarking Year is my ideal form of non-fiction; learning history effortlessly through Lara’s conversational writing style. For example, the bombing of the embankment in 1941 and the hasty concrete repairs made by the brave members of the Thames Flood Prevention Repair Unit to avert a disastrous inundation of the city. Likewise, she discusses the controversies that dogged the building and opening of Brunel’s Rotherhithe tunnel. This was designed to be a wonder, and opened with much fanfare, only to very shortly become a convenient den of iniquity for London’s ne’er-do-wells.
“Shines with love for the subject”
As someone who spends a great deal of time with it, Maiklem is painfully aware of the fragility of the Thames and its foreshore. There are many risks to its well-being; the wash of fast and large boats, unlicensed treasure hunters digging in the mud, rather than picking finds off the surface. Not least of these is London’s antiquated Victorian sewer system which pours tons of effluent into the water whenever there is a storm. All these dangers she discusses passionately, but without allowing them to dominate the narrative.
Publishers Bloomsbury have wisely given the book the presentation it deserves. The lovely artwork of the dust cover depicts the Thames foreshore and London skyline in a style reminiscent of 1930’s rail posters, with blue foiled accents. The endpapers are likewise gorgeous; twelve calendar style images, one for each month, allowing the reader to view many of the items discussed in the text and the locations they were found. There’s also a very clever use of unusual fonts for the headings and section openers, which links the physical text to the narrative, the secret of which you will have to read it to discover.
Above all, the book shines with Lara’s love for the subject. In her words: “When I’m larking, before the sun rises in the morning and when it sets in the evening, the moon is often my only companion. Even when I’m not with the river, I know that if the rising moon is over my right shoulder, I am aligned with the course it takes through central London. The moon and the river are intrinsically linked, and I know that whatever else happens in my life, the moon will keep rising and the tides will keep turning; they are my constant, my grounding and my comfort.”
If you are looking for an enjoyable yet thought provoking read, then look no further than A Mudlarking Year, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
‘A Mudlarking Year’ by Lara Maiklem is published by Bloomsbury
