From the bestselling author of Mudlarking comes a thoughtful examination of her year exploring the most overlooked part of the city through the changing seasons

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MUDLARKING

'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 Snow

For 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 with the elements and uncovering the treasures that are bestowed by the tide. From medieval pilgrim badges and Tudor love tokens, to Georgian wig curlers and Victorian pottery, each passing day unearths ordinary and extraordinary objects that tell the rich story of London’s past and its inhabitants.

A Mudlarking Year is a gentle ode to nature, history and the simple art of looking. Guided by Lara’s curiosity, warmth and wisdom, it is your invitation to discover hidden objects in the most overlooked part of the city, the secrets they reveal and the stories that are patiently waiting to be told.

"An evocative month-by-month account of Lara's addiction “to chasing lost and discarded objects and pulling stories of forgotten Londoners from the mud” . . . her truffling does more than connect her with long forgotten lives – it links her with her fellow obsessives and with the seasons as they ebb and flow along with the river" - New Statesman

"Historically fascinating, domestic, fugitive, mournful, surreal, comic, all by turns . . . [Maiklem] is a modern Everyperson, sifting through a long human history, and coming up with literary pearls, if not often actual ones" - Tablet