`Author:` James Boyce `Availability:` ## Summary **Imperial Mud** tells the **history of the Fens** — the vast wetlands of eastern England — and the **people who lived there, known as the Fennish**, long before their landscape was radically transformed. Boyce describes how, **from the English Civil Wars through the Victorian era**, indigenous Fenland communities fought to preserve their homeland against a **centralised state and powerful landowners who sought to drain and enclose the marshes** for agricultural “improvement.”  Rather than a straightforward story of technological progress, Boyce frames the draining of the Fens as part of a **colonial and state-driven project** that **richly rewarded a few while impoverishing many**, destroying **an intricate ecosystem** and a culture that had thrived in harmony with the wetlands for centuries.  The book brings vividly to life both the **powerful figures** behind the enclosure movement — from Oliver Cromwell to the Dukes of Bedford — and the **Fennish themselves**, whose resistance ranged from everyday defiance to outright conflict. It illustrates unusual details of that world, from **eels used as a kind of currency** to **‘Fen football’ games doubling as acts of sabotage** against drainage works.  Ultimately, _Imperial Mud_ reimagines not just the **environmental and social history of the Fens**, but also what it means to lose **land, identity and community** in the name of progress, and how that loss reflects broader patterns of power, enclosure and ecological transformation in English history.  ## Key Takeaways ## Quotes - ## Notes > [!info] > `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:` ## Highlights