Friendship and cooperation
Clem, Ash and Zara undertake the adventure together; their relationship includes friendly differences, arguments, impatience and strong support.
Book details
Katya Balen - Author
A lively Thames-set fantasy about three friends whose mudlarking leads to an underwater adventure. Expect imaginative world-building, comic eccentricity and an active quest rather than a quiet, realistic story.
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceA lively Thames-set fantasy about three friends whose mudlarking leads to an underwater adventure. Expect imaginative world-building, comic eccentricity and an active quest rather than a quiet, realistic story.
Clem, Ash and Zara undertake the adventure together; their relationship includes friendly differences, arguments, impatience and strong support.
Clem finds something magical while mudlarking, and the children are told it belongs in the river and must be returned to its rightful owner.
The story connects a modern London neighbourhood and the Thames with an imagined underwater London containing eccentric inhabitants and a queen.
Some scenes introduce tremors, cracks, flooding, storms, strange voices and threatening-seeming creatures. The overall presentation is playful and fantastical, but these elements could still feel intense for some readers.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
The Thames and Tide Club: The Secret City - Katya Balen - Google Books
Limited information
Checked: 19 September 2026.
The Thames and Tide Club: The Secret City - Katya Balen - Google Books
Limited information
Checked: 19 September 2026.
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