Precipice
Published by: Penguin Random House UK
In his fictional account of the affair between ageing British prime minister H.H. Asquith and the vivacious young aristocrat Venetia Stanley during the summer of 1914, Robert Harris brings one of the most consequential chapters of modern history to life. Precipice spins a riveting drama around Asquith’s surviving letters to his lover, in which he details his romantic yearnings alongside top-secret intelligence as Europe hurtles headlong into world war one. In doing so, the novel – with great deftness and wit – explores the extent to which political power is shaped by the personal lives of those who wield it.
Orwell Prize for Political Fiction panel
