Pacey and intriguing, I couldn't find the right spot to put it down because it just kept unravelling. This is incredibly the first book by Robert Harris that I've read but I will definitely be reading more and looking forward to getting lost among his blacklist too!

Precipice by Robert Harris
The novel opens with a shocking event in the Summer of 1914. Whilst the world teeters on the brink of war a group of “Bright Young Things” are out boating and one of the party drowns after diving into the Thames for a bet. A young sailor who attempts to save him also drowns. Venetia Stanley is part of this set but she is concealing a huge secret she is in a relationship with Herbert Henry Asquith, the Prime Minister. She is just 26 and he is married and in his sixties.
This incident brings Venetia into contact with Paul Deemer, a young police officer. He is soon recruited into the intelligence service and it becomes his task to monitor the letters sent between Venetia and the Prime Minister. He shares secret information with her and is completely in her thrall. This leads him to make some questionable decisions in relation to Winston Churchill and his naval plans during the war. It is shocking to think that as the world teeters on the brink of destruction Asquith is concerned only if he can get away to meet up with Venetia for a weekend.
Precipice is a mixture of fact and fiction as the letters which passed between these two individuals have been kept and were available for Robert Harris to incorporate into the novel. It is a fascinating story and one which makes you realise how vulnerable Asquith made himself due to his obsession with Venetia.
I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and will be recommending it to my various book groups. Many thanks to Net Galley, the author and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read it in return for an honest review.

I apologise for the length of time it has taken to review Precipice. I have been unwell.

Precipice is without doubt another Robert Harris masterpiece. It does not disappoint. This is famously the story of Herbert Henry Asquith and his love affair with intelligent beautiful much younger Venetia Stanley. It is much more as the novel opening just before WWI and finishes in 1915 after the relationship was no longer sustainable. Harris convincingly fills in the white spaces such as why and how it ended, to what extent the relationship was compromised by secret service activity and what political information Asquith may have revealed to Venetia. Fortunately she appears to have possessed sterling integrity. Harris researched the book thoroughly and in particular the letters written by Asquith, referred to as Prime, to the young Venetia. There were around 560 letters. Hers to Prime have vanished. As a consequence these are imagined by Harris. We have the background to how on the eve of war tensions were rising distracting government from the thorny issue of Irish Home Rule. Harris gets under the skin of the main players in cabinet and those belonging to Venetia’s upper crust family. Of particular note are Venetia, Prime and Winston Churchill. I think of special note is the detective , Paul Deemer, set to watch Venetia and intercept their correspondence, replacing it carefully after reading and making reports to superiors. In this novel he is an honourable man. This is an excellent novel full of tensions and haunted by jeopardy, political and domestic. It is a gripping, suspenseful, brilliant portrait of a particular very important moment in time and place. I felt the characters made the novel really stand out and very special, characterisation as well and finely drawn as those enduring personalities inhabiting an EM Foster novel, in particular that of Venetia and Paul Deemer.

Mr Harris never disappoints and this is a great example of why he is so popular, Beautifully written, extremely well researched, the character development is outstanding and the dialogue is inspired. It’s a difficult task for any author to write a historical event in a manner that moves you into the world where it occurs without becoming, well frankly boring. This is certainly not the case with Precipice, it’s just outstanding and I recommend it to you with the knowledge that you will be captained by his work.

As Great Britain prepares for the First World War, its prime minister, Herbert Asquith, is involved in an affair with a much younger woman, Venetia Stanley, daughter of one of England's most aristocratic and wealthy families.

Reading Harris' latest example of historical fiction, it is fair to say that I was shocked by the depth of Asquith's fixation and obsession with Venetia. The author tells the reader that all the letters from Asquith to Venetia quoted in the novel are genuine, and if so, then the candour displayed and casual revelation of state secrets is almost incredible. These letters survive and they are many, often three a day, sometimes including telegrams containing details of up to date events in the war. Sometimes Asquith would write to Venetia during cabinet meetings listening with only half an ear to the discussions. The letters become more frantic, even desperate, when Venetia makes a decision to end the relationship as it is becoming a scandal among the elite classes. Asquith burned the letters he received from her, and she never betrayed any of the confidential knowledge she gained.

Truth is stranger than fiction, they say, and all the above appears to have really happened. Where Harris moves beyond the truth is in the invention of his detective, Paul Deemer, who is appointed to investigate the affair and find out if there is any risk of state secrets being betrayed to the enemy. Harris has employed a similar plot device before, most recently in Act of Oblivion, and Deemer's role is to demonstrate the risks the prime minister was taking as well as to bring in an intelligent character from those members of society who were less rarified than the rulers of the nation.

It is difficult to be particularly sympathetic to Asquith and his actions would be enormously criticised to the present day, but Harris does render him human, and Venetia is a strong character, caught in a situation from which she finds great difficulty extricating herself.

This is a clever novel, politically timely with its political leaders with feet of clay, astonishing in its content, thoughtful and eloquent throughout.

Robert Harris is a fantastic writer. I have to declare that he is my all-time favourite author and so I bring this positive bias to my review. Why do I like his work so much? Because I love that his stories are based in well known periods of history with strong lead characters. Most of all, I love the imagined dialogue and “supporting cast” roles that bring things to life in such a vivid and effortless way. His writing style opens immediately right into the story and sparks interest and imagination with ease.

“Precipice” tells of the events at the start of the First World War through three main characters who are linked in a most unexpected way; a prime minister, a young woman in her prime, and a policeman in a newly formed secret service unit whose prime role is to spy on their relationship and the war-time secrets it is suspected they may share.

The young woman is Venetia Stanley and we first see her relationship with Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith through her letters to him. And there are many letters! So many and so often that it would seem bizarre to us today to write that many and that often to someone until you realise this was their “email” in 1914! Venetia provides comfort and counsel to “Prime” as she calls him and we gradually understand more of how international relations are deteriorating through Prime’s outpourings of his thoughts, worries of developments and military details of the nation’s preparations and plans. Venetia and “Henry” meet for drives in the prime ministerial limousine and discuss life, love and imminent war during these outings. It is when state secrets are casually discarded on one such drive, that the third main character, Detective Sergeant Paul Deemer is put on the trail to find out the source, and then establish if Ms Stanley represents a risk as a possible spy and if the Prime Minister’s love interest is in the national interest or a relationship too far.

I was utterly flabbergasted reading the author’s notes to discover that the many letters throughout the book are in fact real and that the exchanges and the relationship did indeed take place and supported the war-time leader throughout the early stages of the war. It is amazing that such a love story of such importance took place and hardly anyone is aware of it!

Great Britain was indeed on the edge of a precipice in 1914 and this most amazing book tells of a little known incredible relationship that played an important part in events in this key time in our nation’s history.

I thoroughly recommend Precipice as a most entertaining and amazing insight into life in 1914 – this is a fantastic 5* book of a quite brilliant love story.

This has all the historical authenticity I've come to expect from Robert Harris and I thought the psychological insights into Venetia Stanley as gleaned from the (cringeworthy) letters written to her by then PM Asquith were really incisive. However rather like Munich The Precicipe falls short when it comes to suspense and that's the other thing I come to Robert Harris for. If you want personal dynamics and a new take on govt during WWI this is enjoyable, if you want a nailbiter like Conclave then this might disappoint.

The period leading to WW1 and the then Prime Minister is a time I know very little about so it was interesting to learn the events and people involved that brought us to war. Affairs, I assume, amongst the well to do were more common than we think. The attitude of the nobility portrayed in this novel certainly lend to the notion that they were on another level of morality to the ordinary folk. This all plays into the affair between Asquith and Venetia Stanley. Margot, Asquiths wife, knows of the dailiance and his previous flirtations (according to Harris). What I found shocking was the level the obsession reached and the consequences to the world (yes). Would some of the decisions made during the war have been made, possibly, if Asquiths full attention were on affairs of the state rather than the heart?
An enjoyable read made shocking by the letters from Asquith being factual.

A strange and interesting look back on the real lives of Prime Minister Asquith and Venetia Stanley.

Precipice is Robert Harris doing what he does best. He takes an historical event then spins his magic to make another great novel.

After reading this novel you would be forgiven for thinking it was a factual biography such is the convincing writing.

Set in the months leading up to The Great War the Prime Minister, H H Asquith is having a clandestine affair with aristocratic socialite Venetia Stanley. Asquith is constantly writing to her, up to 3 letters every day. He is also passing on secret and sensitive information.

I would love for this novel to have gone down the clandestine, spy story route as the constant telling of the letters gets a little boring but Robert Harris does keep the reader engaged with the various sub plots.

A great read and I can wholeheartedly recommend. I was lucky enough to receive Precipice as an ARC from Netgalley for which I am extremely grateful and am giving this honest review in return.

Another top historical read from Mr Harris, and throughout the book, I kept asking myself - 'did all this really happen?'

Set initially at the start of World War 1 and the then British Prime Minister, H.H. Asquith, is having an affair with the much younger Venetia Stanley even to the point of writing to her frequently and including correspondence that is secret. Intelligence!

If only he wasn't so distracted,, there could well have been different outcomes to the gruesome loss of soldiers' lives. In all Asquith wrote many, many letters (300000 words) and strangely nobody from the UK's security services stepped in?

Brilliant stuff, compelling and superbly linking the letters to the war itself. Yes, I am a Robert Harris fan - he is an excellent writer. in my opinion.

Thanks to Random House UK/Cornerstone for the chance to read and review.

An interesting book covering a period I know little about. Although Harris indicates what is fact or fiction, there is always an element of interpretation. Never the less, it is an enjoyable read.

An interesting story based on real life. It gave a different view of the lead up and early days of WW1. In some ways it is quite worrying how lax security was back in 1914 and how privileged the upper classes were in both attitudes and behaviour.
I did learn a new word that I really liked - “frottage”.

I have read this ARC with a view to providing a review
All opinions and thoughts are my own

I've read some of this author before and always enjoyed their books
This didn't disappoint

Loved it

Robert Harris became a must-read author for me after reading and loving An Officer and a Spy, the Cicero trilogy and Conclave, but some of his more recent books have left me feeling slightly disappointed. His new one, Precipice, sounded promising, but would it be a return to form?

The novel opens in London in the summer of 1914 and introduces us to Venetia Stanley, a twenty-six-year-old woman from a wealthy, aristocratic family. Venetia is growing bored with the aimlessness of her days and the spoiled, shallow group of friends, known as the Coterie, that she has fallen in with, so when Herbert Henry Asquith begins an affair with her she sees it as a welcome escape. Not only is Asquith more than twice her age, he is also the Prime Minister and Venetia finds it flattering that he seems to value her opinion on politics and includes her in discussions on important matters of state.

Asquith is currently preoccupied with the situation in Ireland where the Nationalists are campaigning for Home Rule, but soon he has an even bigger problem to deal with as tensions begin to escalate in Europe and it looks increasingly possible that Britain could be pulled into a war. At this crucial moment in British history, it seems that the security of the nation is being put at risk – several confidential documents giving details of the government’s military and diplomatic plans have been found by members of the public and handed to the police. Only a small number of high-ranking government ministers have access to this information so, unlikely as it seems, one of them must be responsible for the leaks. Detective Sergeant Paul Deemer is given the task of investigating and it’s not long before he makes a shocking discovery.

Although I’ve read many novels set during WWI, they’ve usually dealt with ordinary people rather than politicians and certainly haven’t been written from the perspective of the Prime Minister. I knew nothing about H.H. Asquith’s private life, what he was like as a person or how he was viewed by his friends, colleagues and the public, so I learned a lot from this book. Harris draws on Asquith’s published letters to Venetia Stanley as one of his main sources and quotes from them extensively throughout the novel (Venetia’s letters to Asquith were apparently destroyed, so Harris uses his imagination to recreate them).

The impression I got of Asquith from this book, as a politician, was of a generally well-meaning man who was competent enough as a peacetime Prime Minister (apart from where the challenge of Ireland was concerned) but definitely not the right person to lead the country through a war. His overly cautious approach in the early stages was very frustrating to watch; it’s likely that the outbreak of war was inevitable and nothing he could have done would have averted it, but he didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation at all and refused to commit Britain one way or the other when he was being pressed from all sides to take decisive action. Even when war did break out, it seemed to be of less importance to him than his relationship with Venetia and again it was frustrating to see him sitting composing letters to her during cabinet meetings and plotting ways to escape from political duties to go and visit her. Although the general public weren’t supposed to know about the affair, it was an open secret amongst their family members and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Margot, Asquith’s wife.

The thriller element of the novel is weaker and although I was never bored, the book never quite became unputdownable either. There’s no real mystery surrounding the security breaches because both we and Paul Deemer know from very early on who is responsible, but it’s still interesting to see how Deemer approaches the situation and there’s an entertaining section where he goes undercover in Wales in search of more information. There’s also a small twist towards the end of the book, which I hadn’t really seen coming, although it had started to occur to me that something wasn’t quite right!

Precipice is definitely more historical fiction than thriller, which may or may not appeal depending on your personal taste. Although it hasn’t become one of my absolute favourites by Robert Harris, I really enjoyed it for the fascinating insights into Asquith and his government.

The strongest point about Precipice is how Robert Harris portrays Prime Minister Asquith during the biggest crisis of his career. The letters he wrote to Venetia Stanley are cringeworthy, reminiscent of an adolescent schoolboy and the building of this novel around them was rather tasteless in my opinion. Having said that Mr Harris has a vivid imagination while writing as Venetia Stanley, whose own letters were destroyed by Asquith. Although the writing is good the reason for Asquith's infatuation with this young woman was not explained at all. I have enjoyed many of Mr Harris's books but Pecipice is not one of his best. However, I have little doubt that it will be successful and readers wishing to learn something of the history around the politics of World War One will find it interesting. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review this book.

He’s done it again – this book is yet another masterful blending of fact and fiction backed by superb and illuminating research, flawless writing, and a creative imagination that should be earning him a bucket load of awards.
Robert Harris is such a skillful storyteller that he makes you believe in whatever world he is constructing. He reimagines real people and seamlessly places them among his fictional characters to create a very believable sense of time and place.
This thrilling new novel combines a story of scandal, politics, and obsession as Harris takes us back to 1914 and a country on the brink of war. Seemingly with the knowledge of friends and family, 26-year-old bored aristocrat Venetia Stanley is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing sensitive matters of state. As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top secret documents – and suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security.
Asquith doesn’t come out of this well, both for the way he treats the women in his life, and for the disregard he shows for state secrets. He appears to be self-pitying, weak, and more interested in writing to his lover than paying attention during critical cabinet meetings. Asquith’s behaviour verges on being both cruel and obsessive, and I’m surprised Venetia – once past the initial infatuation of being courted by power – didn’t tire of him sooner.
While Asquith’s letters to Venetia survive and acted as an inspiration for this novel, Venetia’s letters had to be recreated by Harris. They feel entirely believable and help to immerse us in her world and the incredible situation she finds herself in.
I love the way Harris completely immerses you in the world of his novel, whether it’s ancient Rome, the Vatican, the English Civil War, or the Second World War. And while his books wear their research lightly – the detailed observations make it clear how much hard work has gone into making them feel authentic. This should surely be another bestseller.
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in return for a review.

The year is 1914 and the UK is on the cusp of war, and the only thing that is on the mind of H.H. Asquith the British Prime Minister is Venetia Stanley a vivacious aristocrat who he is having a secret affair with.
He is more than double her age and he is obsessed. So much so he starts to send her correspondence that is secret. Intelligence that if it fell into the wrong hands would have massive detriment to national security.
This is something the security services have become aware of and start to monitor the situation.
If this becomes public knowledge this will be the scandal of the century, so can they keep their affair a secret or will they be exposed?
Robert Harris has written a quite brilliant novel with Precipice.
The story from start to finish is highly intriguing. Harris has the knack of setting the narrative of his books from the very beginning and has a wonderful understanding of the subject matter. He brings history and its characters to life with great aplomb.
I’d say there are very few authors that can live and work in the same circles as Robert Harris, he really is very fine indeed.

This is a fascinating insight into the lead up and first few months of WW1. Incorporating letters from Prime Minister Asquith to Venetia Stanley - often composed during War Office meetings - not only do we have an insight into his fascination with this young woman but he discusses meetings and actually passed on to her telegrams that were top secret!! Robert Harris intertwines fact with fiction seamlessly and made this a definite page turner full of historical information. It is astounding that at the start of the war life continued to make no difference to those who lived the high life. One has to wonder at Asquith's lack of concern where secrecy was concerned!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Robert Harris/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Gripping political thriller outlining the tense series of events leading up to WW1. Nothing is straightforward for Asquith the prime minister as his normally analytical mind for complex issues is distracted as he balances the weight of high office with the ever demands on his concentration of a heady love affair with an aristocratic girl four decades younger . Into the conundrum is the investigation by an intelligence officer intent on finding the perpetrator responsible for high lever security leaks. The perils of decisions made and foolish actions taken in the throes of passion made by those charged with orchestrating the trajectory of a looming war with huge casualties mounting on a daily basis. A highly entertaining and gripping storyline of the run up and onset of the First World War for readers who do not normally read that genre. Many thanks to author publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.