A Mudlarking Year: Finding Treasure in Every Season

by Lara Maiklem

'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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Nature, London, Memoir, Environment, Audiobook

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2024

About the author

Lara Maiklem is a British editor who has been mudlarking for more than a decade. Featured in the Guardian and by the BBC for her work as the "London Mudlark," she lives on the Kent coast,close to the Thames Estuary, and visits the river as regularly as the tides permit.

Reviews

[Emily Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars times 1,000,000.
I love her social media and I loved her other books, but this one is special. I loved the reflections of her time on the river and her finds. Her insights hit me hard. It was the perfect book to read before bed to relax and reflect. The beautiful QR code link provided to her finds was perfection. I am a huge fan of Lara's. This book is a treasure. FYI I read it slowly to drag it out. I didn't want it to end.

Just reread this book and loved it the second time too!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Mudlarking Year by Lara Maiklem was just as magical as her first. You're transported back through history with all her fascinating finds and beautiful descriptions. I didn't want it to end!

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

This book was equally as good as her first. I read this in physical print whereas her first I listened to. Often I prefer one medium over the other but not in this case.


This was a glorious read. I felt like I was curled up on the couch having a good natter with a close friend. Lara has a way of transporting you to where she is and what she is doing at the time. I found it fascinating. Sometimes she imagines a scenario of the item that she finds which is purely speculative, but adds to the dreamy tone of the book. The descriptions of the Thames and its natural surroundings in combination of the hustle and bustle of London life it truly made it a very enjoyable read.

[Annalee Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just adore these books. I could live inside them for years and years, which is why I only allowed myself to read little chunks here and there to really savor. History, treasure hunting, London. Just my cup of tea.

[Rozanna Lilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enormously enjoyable book for anybody who loves collecting and exploring - two of my favourite pastimes. The author takes us with her as she trudges up and down the muddy banks of the Thames finding bits of old shoes, old coins, old pottery and old anything else. Her 'hobby' (I think it's more of an obsession) has turned her into an expert on British, especially London, history. One moment we are finding out about the Romans, the next Tudor England. Maiklem uses each object wrestled from the mud to recreate a different time and it is the sense of being drawn into the past, through frequently mundane bits and pieces, that quite literally makes the book such a treasure. I also enjoyed the calendrical structure of the book, tracing her mudlarking activities over one year - through sun and snow and wind and fog. This temporal framing is part of a more general meditation on history and time - and how we can connect with the past in our own comparatively minuscule lifespans.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely. Front runner for my favorite book of 2024.
I’m a mudlarker wanna be living in rural South Carolina so I do get to fossil hunt and I’ve found Native American artifacts along the rivers and in plowed fields. Old farms and plantations have yielded bottles, bricks, housewares, etc. of days gone by. But historically speaking the life stage of these objects (besides the fossils) is embryonic compared to the Thames finds.
The writing is so powerfully visual that my minds eye was fully engaged on every page. The history gleaned, about what were probably mundane objects during their era, was factual and fascinating. I loved the research that delved into the lives of the people attached to some of the objects.
If you love any kind of treasure hunting, this is a must read book.

[Sara Svensson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most beautiful book I’ve read in quite some time.

[Elaine Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, loved how Lara gave some history telling in her discoveries. Definitely reading her other book

[Sarah Coller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't nearly as magical as her first one --- I think it had something to do with how Covid and lockdowns hit her because this whole book just had a really melancholy dark cloud over it and she brought up those effects a lot. I also didn't enjoy hearing so much about her personal lifestyle, a personal preference for me that I was planning not to mention. However, her comments about God being "unpredictable" and "arbitrary" and insinuating that He is useless, really ticked me off --- so I figured bringing up my irritation at having to read about her lesbian lifestyle was fair game.

As for the actual mudlarking information -- there was a plethora of interesting things to wonder about: the information about how little gold is really available and how it just keeps being melted and reused over and over was something that should have been obvious but wasn't. Very cool. I didn't realize the Thames changes its name when it flows through Oxford and the info on the origin of the word "tawdry" was interesting, as well.

I can't say this book made me more interested or excited about mudlarking; but it was because of the depressing story she told, not because the actual act isn't as exciting as it was back in 2019 when she published her previous book.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a small display cabinet at home where I keep my 'treasures' - nothing of any real value except to me!
Some sharks teeth picked up off a beach in Florida, a silver ring found in a forest in Suffolk which may or may not be set with diamonds, some arrowheads, a tiny medieval bell etc etc.
Lara Maiklem takes things a whole lot further, mudlarking along the Thames for many years and picking up objects that catch her eye. She's also picked up a wealth of knowledge about what she finds.
I enjoyed her first book but this is even better, very well written. I'd love to go mudlarking with her but I'll have to content myself with checking molehills in the countryside around me in case a mole has pushed some treasure to the surface (haven't found a thing yet!).
Interestingly, Maiklem says most mudlarkers much prefer working completely by themselves, with just a nod and passing of the day to their fellow searchers.
The only thing that stops me giving this book 5 stars is her occasional flights of fancy around objects she finds. To me they add nothing and the book would be better without them.

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Laura's second book just as if not more fascinating than her first.
As before we get glimpses in to the authors personal life and dedication as she talks about her supportive partner, children, friends, other mudlarks and specialists in the field she associates with. Along with her detailing the times ( very early mornings, very late nights), weather conditions ( misty mornings etc) and clothing descriptions/people she comes across the descriptiveness really set the scene for me as the reader leading me to be able to visualise it all in my mind.
I love how with each find she details the official process or researching/identifying the item but also who/ where she imagines it has come from giving educated glimpses in to the history of London.
If you are someone who has a enquiring mind & imagination this book is a must as it will fire it further. A compulsive read which is hard to put down but you can also gulp in sections.
Thank you Laura for allowing us a glimpse in to this historic hobby.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I dubiously started reading it and got hooked quite quickly. Lara's obsession became mine - what would she find? What was the objects history? How did she know sooo much?

Mudlarking, or finding old buttons and Roman remains, etc, is basically working on the shoreline of the Thames or the sea or another river, and relying on the tides to bring in the goods. It is ephemeral archaeology. If you miss a small gold sparkle in the afternoon it might be gone for a very long time when the next wave reclaims it.

Considering that mucking about in mud in the very early hours, on very cold days, on very hot days, in sewage, around noise and people who thought she was nuts, seemed to me to be fun makes this book a great success.

This very well written, fascinating book is one of my 2025 favourite reads and one I would happily dip back into again if it was permanently on my bookshelf.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my time reading this. Easy to put down, read something else, and pick back up again. I'll read it again, probably in a similar way - maybe reading it month by month, as it is written.
It includes a QR code that links to photos of the author's finds that she writed about. I found out about it when I was almost finished so I'll definitely use that tool the next time I read the book, really take my time between book and website, and maps, etc.
From October 14 - "There is still a mist hovering above the river when I reach London. The water is perfectly still beneith it, and everything I can see is shades of light grey. It is as if the river has climbed out of its basin and painted the city in its own muted shades."

[idle-brit · Rating 3 out of 5]

We’re starting off strong on the mudlarking sequel as Lara Maiklem admits she’s an inattentive partner who thinks more about the Thames foreshore rather than the conversation her wife is having at that very moment, gives a description of London that feels like it would be more at home in a fictional novel, and then goes straight into a story of when she saw a dead body get pulled out of the river.

It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the book, to be honest. Yes, it’s very atmospheric, and I must admit Maiklem is a good author to set the scene so perfectly in my mind while reading, but this book really seems to be about London rather than mudlarking.

I criticised the low quality photos of her finds in the previous mudlarking book, and perhaps I wasn’t the only one to complain, because in this instalment there’s not a single photograph of anything Maiklem finds in the river. Surely there was a middle ground to be reached here; if the previous photos weren’t good enough, the solution should have been to hire a professional photographer rather than cut them out altogether.

It’s almost like Maiklem regrets the widespread success of her Instagram account and first book, as she even complains in this one how much busier the foreshore is with new mudlarks. You almost get the feeling she made this book as boring as possible to deter anyone else from picking up the hobby.

[Carlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather a joy to read, discovering (at second hand) and learning about the British past from lost and discarded objects found in the Thames river mud. For example the rose farthing found on 22 February 2022, which isn’t valuable, but which looks sweet and has an interesting history (information garnered from Wikipedia, as Maiklem’s online photo stirred my curiosity).
There are related digressions too, including Maiklem’s interesting musings on collecting itself (5 August 2022 entry), potted histories of the river and found objects, and characters met on the shore or from researching her finds. Some material here felt like filler, but still a delightful read.

There are photos of her daily finds available from a QR code in the front of the book.

[Siobhan Markwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took this down to the Thames to better enjoy the atmosphere. Lara Maiklem manages to weave a story out of medieval shoes, fragments of pottery, bottle necks, coins and the mad variety of lost or discarded objects that work their way out of the Thames mud to be coveted and catalogued or returned to the muddy waters. On the way, she gives us the poetry of the waters and beaches, historical anecdotes and musings on the passing of time and the nature of collecting and rooting around in the past. It's really a magical read for anyone who loves to stare at this powerful and mysterious body of water as the waters flow sweetly to, and from the English Channel.

[Kim Ashworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I thought about the river at all when I lived in London, apart from barely venturing south of it. Lara writes like Katherine May, taking us through the year in a way that feels so alien yet so comforting. The tidbits of information are fascinating, and I love the imagined vignettes into the past, connecting objects with people. Lara's relationship with/anthropomorphising of the river is so wonderful - "the river is an obsessive sorter, and divides its booty by size and weight". Definitely one of those special books that influences how you think...

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a previous book by this author about Mudlarking so I was most excited to see this new one. Once again I liked being able to visualize her adventures in the various locations where she mudlarks and the wondrous items she finds. In this book I also enjoyed reading about what was occuring during the time of her writing. For example the Lockdowns during Covid and the effect that had on the River Thames. It might seem like an unusual subject to read about but it is well worth it.

[Rach Jameson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Since reading it, I've spent a lot of time daydreaming and wondering what other treasures lie at the bottom of our biggest city's rivers. I only ever hear of mudlarks work the Thames, I suppose because it's a tidal river. But imagine what could be hiding at the bottom of the River Tame in Manchester or the River Tyne in Newcastle. With such a rich industrial heritage, it's fun to think about.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read. Written by the months of the year and the finds the author finds in that month. Not only does she tell us the finds but gives a history of it and the area of the river Thames where it was found. She also says how sometimes she will imagine who the item belonged to and the sights it will have seen. She also discusses mudlarking and its history. I didn’t realise you needed a license!

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating book from this author who has a poetic touch to her writing. She not only details her finds but brings them to life giving the reader the benefit of her research and bringing her objects to life. As I did when reading her first book I itch to go mudlarking ( though the raw sewage may dampen the idea) and vow to keep my eyes open on countryside walks.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary read!

Wow, Lara has done it again, a splendid book with so much information. Taking you through a whole year, I'm glad to be an armchair mudlarker and have Lara down on the foreshore for me.

I couldn't;t put it down

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book by Lara Maiklem, which is very readable, and brings to life her passion for searching for relics from the past on the banks of the Thames. In addition to juggling her other responsibilities and family life across the 12 months.

[Becca Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly and endlessly fascinating. This was so enjoyable. I got it out of the library but have bought a copy. Too good not to own.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as Lara yearns to return to the Thames foreshore, I found myself wanting to return to this book.

[ANDREW M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book

[Elsa Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in. find me a good spot on the river to search for relics.

[Linzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book of the year! I never wanted it to end! Endlessly fascinating and relaxing to read, Lara’s descriptions of London are stunningly written!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book over Lara Maiklem's first one because of the diary format - I wanted something I can dip into. This had not detracted from my enjoyment - although it did make me want to go back to read Mudlarking, because there were some references to the first book in this one.

This is, unexpectedly, as much a book of nature-writing as it is about history, urban archeology and memoir. The language is lush and descriptive and Lara's love for nature, and specifically The Thames, really shines through. You can also sense her passion for mudlarking and her empathy/sensitivity for history - it was eery but wonderful when she described how picking up certain artefacts can mentally transport her to a different time and place.

The book has an interactive component where if you scan a QR code, you can view an instagram album of photos of all the finds. I had mixed feelings about this - it meant there were lots of photos, but having to access Instagram was annoying. I wish Penguin would just invest more into the book and include more illustrations within the book. The endpapers were a collage of some of the photos but my library copy obscured large sections of the endpapers with their book covering and labelling.