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Precipice

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Precipice

By: Robert Harris
Narrated by: Samuel West
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR


Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.

In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless – 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 the most 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 that will alter the course of political history.

Seamlessly weaving fact and fiction in a way that no writer does better, Precipice is the thrilling new novel from Robert Harris.

‘A riveting tale of politics, war and erotic obsession’ Sunday Times

'Harris writes with a skill and ingenuity that few other novelists can match' Financial Times

©2024 Robert Harris (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Espionage Historical Suspense World War I Exciting War
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Critic reviews

I’m not fond of the word masterpiece, but this is a masterpiece (Nigella Lawson)
Splendid (Max Hastings)

What listeners say about Precipice

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A beautifully written and presented book

Robert Harris is an excellent author and he has created a wonderful book. It is both fascinating and touching, with tremendous care taken in the presentation of the letters, mixing the original with the imagined. The performance by Samuel West is sublime. He is able to convey the range of emotions with truth and without sensationalism. The characters come alive beautifully. I strongly recommend this book and urge you to read or listen to it.

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Fascinating story,!

The narrator was especially good, the historical research must have been extensive and the way the story was beautiful woven together with an eloquent description of life at that time, A brilliant book and one I highly recommend,

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Superb

Robert Harris at his best. This book cannot be faulted. Gripping and fascinating, made more so with real people and real events. Exceptionally well written, accessible and entertaining, with globally significant historical happenings as a backdrop - a love affair, a woman ahead of her time, a prime minister obsessed.

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Precipice

It help my interest from the first chapter
A story well written and narrated

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Excellent nerve n

Great story telling
I felt l lived through the complex
life of a man obsessed completely with a love he could
never have

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Fascinating exposition of an unknown piece of history.

This is a brilliant piece of work both in its scholarship and its transposition into novel form. Sam West is a brilliant narrator and must have put in hours of preparation before performing. An audio book, no matter how wonderful the script, can be ruined by a poor reader. Sam and his father Timothy are two of the best narrators working in this genre.

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Highly recommended

Brilliant . Both story and style. A must for history lovers Plus excellent narrator

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Great writing and sublime narration.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A slight departure from the usual intrigue, I felt but never these sensitive and informative .. and so shocking in its way. Samuel West is simply brilliant. What more can I say?

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Excellent beyond belief

I have several of Samuel West’s performances on Audible. They are all excellent, and this is no exception. It’s coming to the point where I won’t want to be read to by anyone else! His narrations are truly something.

As to the book – it’s well researched, and the author does a very clever job of linking the facts together with credible fiction. Of course, we’ll never know exactly what transpired but we can make a few pretty good guesses, given the nature of the two main characters. The story flows so well it’s difficult to put down.

I was brought up near Holyhead and Penrhos, and walked many a time through the woods there, so some of the descriptions are quite evocative. In fact, I might go back for another look – it’s certainly made me want to read up a bit more on events leading up to the First World War. History at school would have been more interesting if we’d had books like this!


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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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The insanity of the affair

As always RH captures the social structure of the period; class, deference, entitlement and uses the language of the time. Although I began to tire of the too often opening of “my dear dahling” he is quoting from the reference material. The introduction of the fictional MI operative gave the novel a useful frisson of the extraordinary risks that the couple were taking - and is entirely plausible. The book could just as easily be titled The End of the Affair or, Eve of Catastrophe. A fascinating perspective of events.

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