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.
With a crisp delivery, Samuel West narrates this compelling story of Prime Minister H.H. Asquith and his all-consuming love affair with a woman half his age just before WWI. For this novel based on recently discovered letters, West uses his British accent to paint 1914 London with a colorful and detailed palette. Asquith's focus should be on the preparation for war, but, as expressed by West in a
