Imperial Mud

Like Patagonia, ‘the Fens’ has no precise border. This bountiful wetland on the English east coast is a region that most maps cover with a blank. In a masterful and painstaking act of retrieval, James Boyce reclaims the landscape of his fiercely independent forebears. The Fennish, like most indigenous people, left few written records - an absence that makes Imperial Mud even more valuable, as a celebration of their centuries-long resistance against drainage and enclosing landlords; and, above all, of their utterly passionate relationship with the ‘common’ marsh through which they defined their identity. – Nicholas ShakespeareBoyce tells the tale with that rare but always winning combination of passion and scholarly vigour. * Geographical Magazine (Book of the Month) *A real page-turner … a warning about what happens when the rich and powerful dress up their avarice as “progress” - a lesson we could do with learning today. – Dixe Wills * BBC Countryfile magazine *Evocative and imaginatively argued * Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Pick of the Week’ *A wonderful example of history writing embedded in the narratives of place, in this instance the Fenlands of England and its people, both dramatically altered in the name of dubious progress. * Australian Book Review, Books of the Year 2020 *A lively, affectionate, colourful account of individuals from all walks of life living their lives and particularly standing up for themselves with passion, control and careful planning. – Natalie Bennett * Resurgence & Ecologist *In telling the story of the people and the lost wetlands, Boyce has provided robust scholarship and rigour which combines with passionate writing to bring the account to a wider audience. In short this volume is incredibly readable as well as being wonderfully entertaining, and not least, informative. – Ian D. Rotherham * Environment and History *

James Boyce is a multi-award-winning Australian historian. His first book, Van Diemen’s Land, was described by Richard Flanagan as ‘the most significant colonial history since The Fatal Shore’. 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia was The Age’s Book of the Year, while Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World was hailed by The Washington Post as ‘an exhilarating work of popular scholarship’.

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