Precipice
The thrilling No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller from the author of Conclave
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**PRE-ORDER AGRIPPA NOW: THE THRILLING NEW NOVEL FROM ROBERT HARRIS, COMING AUGUST 2026**
THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER
A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB AND A SUNDAY TIMES SUMMER READS PICK 2025
A WORLD ON THE BRINK OF WAR. AN AFFAIR ON THE EDGE OF SCANDAL.
‘A riveting tale of politics, war and erotic obsession’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘His most enthralling yet . . . extraordinary’ NICHOLAS COLERIDGE, INDEPENDENT
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.
'The king of the page-turning thriller' i Paper
'Harris's cleverness, judgment and eye for detail are second to none' Sunday Times
'Harris writes with a skill and ingenuity that few other novelists can match' Financial Times
'Harris is a master of historical fiction, a compelling author who brings to life the recent and ancient past' TLS
Robert Harris, Sunday Times bestseller, May 2024
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Harris (Act of Oblivion) fictionalizes the real-life love affair between British prime minister H.H. Asquith and 26-year-old aristocrat Venetia Stanley in this fascinating historical thriller. In the summer of 1914, Stanley conceals her flirtations with the married Asquith from her upper-echelon social circle. Meanwhile, Det. Sgt. Paul Deemer responds to a call about a potential drowning, and crosses paths with Stanley. The narrative then stretches into the early days of WWI, with Asquith begrudgingly sending British forces to fight the Germans and detailing his distresses in tender letters to Stanley. As Asquith's letters become increasingly forthcoming, someone in his cabinet starts leaking crucial government telegrams, leading Deemer to investigate. In the process, he begins to unravel Asquith and Stanley's affair through their letters—many of which are authentically reprinted, some for the first time. Themes of national loyalty and the ravages of war permeate the novel, but Harris resists grandiosity, leaning on his background as a journalist to make the stakes feel at once personal and profound. Stanley, in particular, emerges as a fascinating historical figure, caught between a life of easy luxury and an intoxicating love for a desperate man several decades her senior. Readers will be astonished.
