Blog Tour: ‘London Clay’ by Tom Chivers

I am so pleased to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for ‘London Clay’ by Tom Chivers.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and Doubleday for inviting me on the tour and giving me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This gorgeous hardback book was published on 9th September, 2021.

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From the Publisher:

Part personal memoir, part lyrical meditation, London Clay takes us deep in to the nooks and crannies of a forgotten city: a hidden landscape long buried underneath the sprawling metropolis. Armed with just his tattered Streetfinder map, author Tom Chivers follows concealed pathways and explores lost islands, to uncover the geological mysteries that burst up through the pavement and bubble to the surface of our streets.

From Roman ruins to a submerged playhouse, abandoned Tube stations to ancient riverbeds, marshes and woodlands, this network of journeys combines to produce a compelling interrogation of London’s past. London Clay examines landscape and our connection to place, and celebrates urban edgelands: in-between spaces where the natural world and the city mingle, and where ghosts of the deep past can be felt as a buzzing in the skull. It is also a personal account of growing up in London, and of overcoming loss through the layered stories of the capital.

Written in rich and vivid prose, London Clay will inspire readers to think about what lies beneath their feet, and by doing so reveal new ways of looking at the city.

“London, investigated through the medium of psycho-geology, is revealed as a nexus of energies, interconnections, memories and resurrections. Tom Chivers, with the forensic eye of an investigator, the soul of a poet, is an engaging presence; a guide we would do well to follow.”

Iain Sinclair, author of London Orbital

“We are none of us here for long. Our lives matter hugely and yet in the great scheme of things not at all. This book grapples with our predicament in an entirely original way. It’s entertaining, enlightening and deeply moving. You will learn something about London and a good deal about life.”

Justin Webb

“Gentle, all-observant Tom is the perfect guide for this exploration of London’s nooks and crannies, places I thought I knew well and places I didn’t even know existed. His beguiling mix of history, geology, folklore and memoir captivated me from the first page.”

Lara Maiklem, author of Mudlarking

“London re-enchanted. From the heart of the old city to the distant edgelands, London Clay is a wonderfully multi-layered meander through a landscape at once familiar and strange. A portrait of a haunted, mysterious city and a moving work of personal memoir.”

Helen Gordon, author of Notes from Deep Time

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My Review:

This book arrived at a perfect moment for me; I was listening to Laura Maiklem’s excellent ‘Mudlarking’ and in the zone for thinking about the layers of history sitting under London. I am a huge fan of London and fascinated by its long history, so launched myself into this book with enthusiasm.

Tom Chivers blends a lot of genres and interests here – I don’t think this is a book like any other that I’ve read. There is human history (my main interest), but also lashings of geology and geography as Chivers navigates the natural landscape on which the modern city is built. This is a meditation on the land – the ‘London clay’ and hidden rivers – that underpins the city and shaped its development.

It’s also a book that is part memoir and I found the aspects that dealt with Chivers’ own personal connection to the city among some of the most affecting sections of the book. Here is his grief for his lost mother, his feelings on the birth of his children, his ingrained and heartfelt links to London – and it makes the book personal and bravely revelatory.

As Chivers is a poet, it is no surprise that the book is beautifully written. The lyrical descriptions of whatever he turns his gaze to are immersive – even when the focus is something as everyday or unglamorous as the sewer system or stretches of urban wasteland. The prose is a joy to read.

The book is organised into sections, each dealing with Chivers’ separate ‘quests’ within the city. This might be the tracing of a river source or an investigation into one of London’s natural features – for example, where there is a natural rupture in the clay the city is built upon. I’ll be honest – some of this didn’t sound thrilling to me initially, but the reader is in safe hands and Chivers makes his personal interests interesting to read.

There are maps and illustrations throughout and these complement the text. It was good being able to visualise the areas that Chivers was discussing – and I learnt some interesting geological and geographical terms that have bypassed me up to this point in my life. ‘Alluvial’ seemed to feature a lot so I might start flinging that into casual conversation now!

My own personal interests lie with human history rather than natural, so I especially enjoyed those bits of the book that dealt with man-made elements. Luckily, there was plenty for me – from Roman roads to Bazalgette’s Victorian sewer system, from the ancient wells that gave areas of London their name to disused underground stations – and it was fascinating.

Because of the multi-faceted nature of the book, it did occasionally feel a bit overwhelming. Chivers skips freely between natural features of the city, folklore, history, personal stories and philosophical musings with a sometimes dizzying pace. It must be said that this is not a quick read – but the rewards are there if you are happy to take your time and go with the flow.

Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who wants a genuinely eye-opening book that is huge in scope. It is – by turns – quirky, moving, surprising, thought-provoking, fascinating and impressive. It shifts from microscopic detail to a staggering overview of millenia of natural and human history in the space of a few lines – and then back again.

If you have any interest in what lies below our capital city, this is definitely worth a read. Even if you have no interest in what lies below our capital city, this is still worth a read – Chivers’ clever blending of disparate elements and crafting of language is a pleasure to read.

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About the Author:

TOM CHIVERS is a poet and publisher. He is the author of two pamphlets and two full collections of poetry to date, and is director of the independent press Penned in the Margins. In 2008 he was the Bishopsgate Institute’s first writer in residence, and has appeared widely at events and made a number of contributions to radio, including presenting a 30 minute documentary for Radio 4. He has collaborated with the climate arts organisation Cape Farewell and conducts immersive walking tours of London. Chivers is currently an Associate Artist of the National Centre for Writing.