Marshland

Cocker spaniel by his side, Gareth E. Rees wanders the marshes of Hackney, Leyton, and Walthamstow, avoiding his family and the pressures of life. He discovers a lost world of Victorian filter plants, ancient grazing lands, dead toy factories and tidal rivers on the edgelands of a rapidly changing city. As strange tales of bears, crocodiles, magic narrowboats, and apocalyptic tribes begin to manifest, Rees embarks on a psychedelic journey across time and into the dark heart of London itself. First published by Influx Press in 2013, Marshland is a deep map of the east London marshes where nothing it as it seems, blending local history, folklore, and weird fiction in a genre-straddling classic of contemporary place writing. This fully revised and expanded 2024 edition features brand-new material and never before-seen photographs from the author's archive.

Gareth E. Rees is an author of fiction and non-fiction. His books include Sunken Lands and Unofficial Britain (Elliott & Thompson), Car Park Life and The Stone Tide (Influx Press). He has contributed to numerous weird fiction and horror anthologies and his stories have been selected for Best British Short Stories 2023 (Salt Publishing) and The Best of British Fantasy 2019 (Newcon Press). His first short story collection, Terminal Zones, was published by Influx Press in 2022. Rees is also a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist in The Dirty Contacts and Black Arches, and has collaborated on musical projects with Polypores, The Revenant Sea and Jetsam. He lives in Hastings.