You'll get the chance to meet some of London’s mudlarks, as well as see their personal collections, here. Firstly, whereas riverbeds in locations like Cardiff, Bristol and Newcastle can be dangerous due to the dense mud – which you can sink into and drown in, since it goes above your head – when the tide recedes on the Thames, it’s a reasonably gravelly foreshore, which is safer to walk on.

I loved the respect and connection she feels to the people whose lost possessions she finds - often, history books take a callous approach to the people they talk about, as if their misfortunes and often cruel lives and deaths were unimportant or a matter for sport just because they have been dead for a long time, and it always sits wrong with me. Mudlarker newbies can get a ‘standard’ permit, which is valid for certain locations west of the Thames Barrier up to Teddington. It’s worth knowing that, per the Treasure Act 1996, all finders of gold and silver objects, or groups of coins from the same finds, over 300 years old, have a legal obligation to report them. The report should be made to the local coroner within 14 days of discovery. Walking along the foreshore of the Thames in central London is not everyone’s idea of a hobby – it can be cold, dirty and just as muddy as mudlarking suggests. Historically, being a mudlark was not a desirable station in life. The terms came about in the Georgian and Victorian periods when the Thames was one of the major routes to transport goods into the city. At this time, the banks of the river would have swarmed with the melancholy figures of mudlarks, mostly poor women and children who would be “up with the larks” to work whenever the river ran low. Mudlarking’, the practice of scavenging through river mud for lost items of value or historical significance.

In Mudlarking, Lara Maiklem takes us down the river from Teddington to the Estuary and the open sea in a combination of memoir, archaeology, science and history in a narrative non-fiction style of writing. She tells us her preferred method of searching the river bed and banks is to kneel with her 'nose barely inches from the foreshore' where she completely immerses herself in the task. A lyrical and evocative narrative history of London and its people, told through objects found on the banks of the Thames by the city's most prominent mudlark With wit and an open writing style, she opens up her world in a way that you can feel her passion, share her enthusiasm and marvel in her imaginations. Another thing that irked me was her belief that a portion of the shore had been taken away from her. When telling the reader about nets of stones placed against the river wall in Greenwich in an attempt to prevent erosion, she says:

You'd think I'd find some of this Tudor item piece or James I pirate cob, or Roman scabbard shield minutia of most elemental or restoring detail surrounded grabbing my imagination. Or even deep appreciation. But I just couldn't at all. So I sped read the last 1/3rd. I still have little interest in metal-detecting but the sense of being so close to the soul of the river, teasing out its bounty by effort and a good eye and reconnecting the present with the past has a value beyond the items themselves.The morbid part of me especially enjoyed hearing of Maiklem’s encounters with human remains -both modern and ancient - and following her speculations as to the life they may have led. I’m still haunted by her description of Amy Johnson’s tragic end – and my imagination was particularly captured by the fact that although her chequebook, logbook and travel bag were retrieved, her body was never found… I had no idea the construction of the old bridge slowed the water to such an extent the river froze over in harsh winters. I knew about the festivities that took place when the Thames froze over in the 1600s but wasn't aware that it doesn't do so now because these obstructions were removed when the old bridge was demolished. Thirdly, walking on the foreshore of the Thames is dangerous. Permit holders are warned of the hazards of going down to the river bank, and advised to go in groups. A Richard III boar badge likely worn to the king’s coronation by an attendee – also discovered by Jason in the Thames – is now used to teach schoolchildren about artefacts at the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester. Marie Louise Plum, or @oldfatherthames, also posts educational videos and vlogs of her mudlarking adventures on her YouTube channel.

Armed with this information on just how much this obsession controls the author's life, I formed the opinion she'd make an unreliable friend and frustrating partner but is no doubt a highly experienced mudlarker. Here without prompting yawns or repetition Lara speaks of each area of the river bank she visits. Her finds and the history of that location are detailed and shared. She is an honest commentator, a well researched historical narrator and a person who shares fully of herself. Mudlarking is charged throughout with love for London and its history. Maiklem’s descriptions are witty, evocative and she has some wonderful anecdotes to relate. The history she encounters in the silt of the river hark from the depths of the Bronze Age all the way through to the palaces of the Tudor period and the filth of the Victorian era. As comprehensive as it may be, the history is never dry, and spans so much further than just that of Britain. Maiklem reaches out to the far corners of the globe; detailing 18th century transportations, the horrors of transatlantic slave trade, and even merchant ships hawking sugar and spice and all things nice. It is tremendously important that mudlarks report their finds to the Portable Antiquities Scheme in accordance with the terms of their licence, no matter how trivial or mundane they seem,” said Stuart Wyatt, Finds Liaison Officer for the London area, who assesses and records the artefacts found by mudlarks for the PAS. In fact, the educational side, of sharing the stories behind their found items, is important to many members of the community.Mudlarking is not all about the physical objects you find on the river, however. Anderson speaks poetically of the joys of being on the foreshore. “I instantly forget any anxieties or problems that I have for the few hours or so that I'm down by the river,” she said. “Even if I don't find much that day, I love the peace the river brings – the wildlife, birds, boats going past, the sounds, the way the light reflects on the water, the changing landscape on whatever part of the Thames foreshore I happen to be mudlarking on that day. Even on a cold, windy or wet weather day, it’s very invigorating.”

I wish I could say more than that. On paper, this should be right up my street. It's the kind of fun micro-history that covers a nice range of time periods and is filled with fun factoids that I would normally love, but for some reason it's missed the mark. Maybe its the authorial voice? Maybe its the additions of autobiographical details that I don't care about? Maybe it was just that I didn't enjoy the audio book narration? I really can't put my finger on it, but my response to this book can be described as lukewarm at best.The practice of combing exposed riverbeds for lost treasures, termed ‘mudlarking’, is becoming increasingly popular thanks to social media.