Malcolm Russell

Malcolm Russell is a history writer who searches the foreshore of the River Thames to find the remnants of forgotten lives. The hundreds of objects he has found include Roman gaming counters, Tudor rings, eighteenth century beads used in the slave trade, a Victorian opium pipe and contemporary spells. In his first book ‘Mudlark’d’ (Thames & Hudson) he uses these objects to reveal the stories of London’s unremembered people: its non-conformists, immigrants, addicts, magicians, soldiers, sex workers and street musicians. Malcolm studied history at the University of Sheffield where he was also more recently an Honorary Research Fellow of the history department. He first started unearthing objects from the past thirty-five years ago while excavating Victorian household tips. He is one of the most popular mudlarks on social media, and has contributed to publications such as Treasure Hunting, The Searcher and Beachcombing. He lives in east London. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MudHistorian.