Thames

The Thames is a geographic landmark in August Epp’s account of his first years in London after his father disappeared and his mother died. The river places the derelict land where he lived alongside Gargoyle Wharf in Wandsworth, anchoring a brief recollection of his life outside the colony.

Place in August Epp’s Recollection

August had been studying history at university when he experienced a nervous breakdown and left his studies. With nowhere to live, he joined a group of anarchists, artists, and musicians squatting on derelict land near Gargoyle Wharf, next to the Thames. The river is thus part of the setting for a period shaped by bereavement, interrupted study, and communal life in London.

Narrative Significance

The Thames is mentioned as a concrete point of orientation, not as the focus of a separate episode. Its proximity to the squat situates August’s past in Wandsworth and gives the reader a specific urban landscape for his account of how he came to live among the squatters. The recollection also links that life to his later conversation with Ona, in which he explains the circumstances that preceded his return to the colony.