A Mudlarking Year - Lara Maiklem

For over two decades, Lara Maiklem has scoured the banks of the Thames to find objects – lost or discarded – that tell the greatest stories. Now, having propelled mudlarking into the popular consciousness with her debut book Mudlarking, Maiklem returns with A Mudlarking Year. Reflecting on a year of her life searching the foreshore, she reminds us that it’s possible to draw meaning from the most unlikely of places.

Maiklem carefully searches the riverbank through the changing seasons of 2022 – at times aided by the illumination of the falling winter sun or hindered by overcast skies and the high tides of spring. Yet, working in harmony with the unpredictable foreshore, she finds solace in the elements and wonder in the treasures bestowed by the tide. From medieval pilgrim badges and Tudor shoes, to Georgian wig curlers and Victorian pottery, each passing day unearths the ordinary objects that tell the rich story of London’s history and its inhabitants.

Guided by Maiklem’s curiosity, wisdom and obsession, A Mudlarking Year is an invitation to discover the forgotten objects in the most overlooked part of London – uncovering the stories patiently waiting to be told.

About Lara Maiklem

Lara Maiklem moved from her family's farm to London in the 1990s and has been mudlarking along the River Thames for fifteen years. She now lives with her family on the Kent coast within easy reach of the river, which she visits as regularly as the tides permit. Her first book, Mudlarking, was a critically acclaimed bestseller. Lara has the largest online following of any mudlark and has been featured in the Telegraph, Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, among other notable publications.

Author Photo Credit © Tom Harrison

Host or Publisher Dulwich Books