Precipice

A Novel

De: Robert Harris

Narrado por: 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.

Understanding History

I have read several nonfiction history books which address the events leading toward WWI. Precipice provides the most memorable as it conveys not just dates, locations and historic characters but feelings and emotions. “The Prime”,Asquith, has never lodged in my memory. Now he will, but not just his name but the emotional stresses of world events and personal conundrums. Thank you Mr. Harris.

Eloquent storyteller

Such a fine writer. Abundance of historical detail, maybe too much for some, but I felt transported into a very consequential moment in time through the private torments of these few characters.

Publishing of little known histor.

Always enjoy Robert Harris’s historical research. Also his writing ability and I could not know but I suspect almost all of his review’s have a tone similar to mine.
T

Fascinating story, superbly told

So happy to have discovered Robert Harris, who is perhaps better known in the UK than here in the US. Plunged into Precipice right on the heels of listening to Munich, which was also terrific. But I found Precipice even more compelling. I like Harris’ style — despite his popular appeal, he’s no hack, nor is his writing flashy or self-conscious. In fact, I got so caught up in the characters (all real life people in this case) and their story (based on actual events) I almost forgot I was listening to a work of at least semi fiction. The author’s command of history, as well as character and dialogue, is apparent. And the reader Samuel West was equally impressive. Ready for more of both.

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.