A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'Enchanting' Sunday Times'Driven by curiosity, freighted with mystery and tempered by chance, wonders gleam from every page' Melissa Harrison'A hybrid of personal memoir, London history and literary cabinet of curiosities' TelegraphMudlark (/'mAdla;k/) noun A person who scavenges for usable debris in the mud of a river or harbourLara 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...

'An absolute treasure trove of sound advice and historical detail' Katherine May'A delightful and a profound meditation on the variety of human experience' Ian Mortimer'Lara Maiklem is a phenomenon. She elevates trudging around in the mud to an epic gallivant through our past' Dan SnowFor over two decades, Lara Maiklem has been scouring the banks of the tidal Thames looking for objects – lost or discarded – that tell forgotten stories. In this charming sequel to the bestselling Mudlarking, Lara widens her search beyond the river and reflects on life lived post-pandemic, reminding us that it's possible to draw meaning in the most unlikely of places.As she searches the foreshore through the changing seasons, she is at times aided by the gentle illumination of the falling winter sun or hindered by bright summer skies and lashing rain. Yet, by working in harmony with the unpredictable terrain, she finds solace in aligning...