A Mudlarks Treasures, Ted Sandling
A Mudlarks Treasures, Ted Sandling
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

A Mudlark's Treasures
London in Fragments

Author: Ted Sandling, Sinclair, Iain

Narrator: Ted Sandling

Unabridged: 5 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Aurum

Published: 05/18/2021


Synopsis

Mudlarking enthusiast Ted Sandling takes us on a riveting journey along the Thames foreshore and back into the past.

'A beautiful book.' Daily Mail
'Exhilaratingly curious.' Evening Standard
'Gripping.' Spectator
'Brilliant.' Penelope Lively
'Indefatigably researched.' Country Life
'Wonderful, quirky.' Tracy Chevalier

Mudlarking, the act of searching the Thames foreshore for items of value, has a long tradition in London. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, mudlarks were small boys grubbing a living from scrap. Modern-day mudlark Ted Sandling shares his passion for unearthing relics of the past from the banks of the Thames and describes his fifty most evocative finds. From Roman tiles to elegant Georgian pottery, these objects create a mosaic of everyday London life through the centuries, touching on the journeys, pleasures, vices and industries of a world city. This book celebrates the beauty of small things, and the intangible connection that found objects give us to the past.

The Thames presents treasures with a delightful serendipity: it gives up a hundred random objects, and it is up to the finder to discover their stories. That is the joy of mudlarking: that after every trip to the river you know more than you did before. Chance connections with something that was once treasured, that was once lost and has now been found again. Even the meanest broken fragments tells a story of this great city.

'The significance of these fragments lies in the stories they tell us about the everyday lives of the people to whom there are no monuments or blue plaques.' TLS

A fully illustrated edition of this book is also available under the title LONDON IN FRAGMENTS: A Mudlark's Treasures.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Hilary on March 02, 2021

I was expecting something different from this book. I had listened to a very interesting radio 4 programme about mudlarking and the huge variety of artifacts found on the banks of the Thames. Although this had some interesting information and beautiful photos of pottery pieces, the book contained li......more

Goodreads review by 8stitches 9lives on June 18, 2021

This was a compelling and thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish with plenty of insight into a fascinating topic written in an accessible and eminently readable fashion. Not only it insightful and educational but it's also entertaining to read; the best of both worlds. What more could you as......more

Goodreads review by Kon on September 05, 2021

Reading this book is enriching me. We are in lockdown here in Sydney and can only go out within a 5k radius. Ted Sandling has inspired me to try mudlarking at a tiny Sydney Harbour beach down the road from my house. I don’t have to wear gloves, or protective gumboots, just flip-flops — we call them......more

Goodreads review by Helen on August 03, 2020

I really enjoyed this and learnt a lot about the history of London. I am looking forward to getting my permit so I can mudlark.......more

Goodreads review by Theediscerning on June 01, 2021

What I think of as mudlarking finds would be ships nails, bits of pottery, tile, and glass, and the general detritus of centuries of life on and around the Thames. I wouldn't think of chunks of the previous Houses of Parliament so big you wouldn't get them on a plane as hand-luggage. Our author has,......more