Robert Harris historical thrillers are pretty much a guarantee of a great read, and Precipice was no exception. Set in the early stage of WW1, it revolves around the intimate correspondence that Prime Minister Asquith shared with socialite Venetia Stanley.
As with his other books, there is a strong nonfiction core around which he weaves his story: the remarkable element this time is that all the letters from Asquith to Venetia are the actual text sent, as she retained them all (over 300,000 words!) and they are now an academic archive.
This makes for an incredible sense of intimacy, and a really human perspective into a critical period of history. It conveys a real sense of the huge pressure and loneliness of a world leader, while simultaneously giving equal importance to the emotions of complex personal relationships. It’s a terrific book which I genuinely struggled to put down.
