Precipice

A Novel

By: Robert Harris

Narrated by: Samuel West

“Robert Harris is, simply put, masterful.”—Karin Slaughter

A spellbinding novel of passion, intrigue, and betrayal set in England in the months leading to the Great War from the bestselling author of Act of Oblivion, Fatherland, The Ghostwriter, and Munich.

Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.

In London, twenty-six-year-old Venetia Stanley—aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless—is part of a fast group of upper-crust bohemians and socialites known as “The Coterie.” She’s also engaged in a clandestine love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state.

As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer with Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents. Suddenly, what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that could topple the British government—and will alter the course of political history.

An unrivaled master of seamlessly weaving fact and fiction, Precipice is another electrifying thriller from the brilliant imagination of Robert Harris.

©2024 Robert Harris (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

outstanding in every way

First, this reading was superb. I am admirer of Samual West an actor in many different roles, brilliant as an admirable character and equally good as a despicable one.
The story was as well written as all Harris' books and has the added value of being historically accurate. It is a wonderful insight into a terrible period of British history.

untold story

liked it all. Robert Harris' novels have terrific pace. I learn so much in each one. great storyteller. If I could write a book, this is how I'd do it. thank you Mr Harris

I wasted a credit on a romance !

The love letters were so tedious and characters were poorly developed. Is categorized as espionage but this was never developed in the story. Sorry I wasted a credit on this.

Love Robert Harris but this was a bit boring

One of my favorite authors. This was his only book that was a bit boring. Lacked the bombshell twist you expect in his books

A Pivotal Time

A Pivotal Time

Historical fiction at its finest: Precipice gives the reader eyes on the behind-the-scenes drama of British diplomacy in the years leading up to The Great War and also the Irish Revolution. Robert Harris has done an admirable job of capturing the mood and conversations of a pivotal time.

Samuel West is perfect for narrating this excellent book.

Spectacular narration, startling history

The narration of this story was so good that I regretted the book was ending. How odd that a prime minister would behave as H.H. Asquith did as World War I was breaking out. It captures a different time convincingly.

Another banger from Harris

“If only neediness was attractive, how much happier the world would be.” Robert Harris is a brilliant writer in no small part because he deeply understands the human condition. The book is kinda boring because of the subject matter, but still, Harris put his whole bussy into this one. Great narration too.

An unlikely wartime love story-but true!

The narration by Samuel West was superb and kept me going when the story of Asquith’s obsessive relationship with Venetian wore thin! The backdrop of the First World War was titillating and inspired one to do more research about the characters. Asquith’s character as a lovestruck man served the purpose of the book but was not quite satisfying as a measure of the whole man. As usual Harris writes splendidly and one can participate in the story as if one were actually there in time and place.

Fascinating

Fascinating book.

There is only so much that a high school history class can cover.

I read a number of books about this time in history, but none that have been so clear about the British government during that time.

The ridiculous love letters from the Prime Minister

Totally unlike the authors, usual books, this one is just silly. Period maybe people wrote such letters 100 years ago, but I found them offputting. There isn’t much of a pot on top of that.