War, love and possible treason

Precipice is an historical novel by Robert Harris. This book brings to life the affair between the British Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith and the aristocratic Venetia Stanley, more than 30 years younger than Asquith. The affair took place just prior to and at the beginning of WW1 with the Prime Minister sending hundreds of letters, usually three per day, to Venetia. He wrote these letters at all times of the day and night, including while he was chairing cabinet meetings, and they were a mixture of gossip, sentimental expressions of his love and very sensitive information about the progress of the war, including with the letters original telegrams and letters about the war. All of these letters still survive and they form the backbone of this novel and demonstrate Asquith’s obsession with his lover.

This is not a thriller but it is a snapshot of a particular time and the actions of particular people who had great influence and power. It’s frightening to see the class system demonstrated in what happens and the sense of entitlement by these elite people. We get a picture of how the upper classes lived and loved but also about how the pre-war hierarchy starts to break down under the pressure of war, the involvement of women in the workplace and the near collapse of the economy.

The story follows the love affair between the two and also the decisions which Asquith was taking day by day about the conduct of the war. The book closes just before the Prime Minister is deposed by David Lloyd George but when Venetia finishes the relationship. The author also includes an investigation by the Security Services into these letters and the disclosure of sensitive information which really amounted to treason. In the end the book is about Asquith’s obsession, which is dangerous to himself and the country, and Venetia’s need to be her own person. It is obvious that the author has much sympathy for Venetia and slightly less for Asquith (he also obviously dislikes Churchill and Kitchener).

It seems like this should be a slight book but it is full of social history as context and a real understanding of people. I was absolutely gripped by it and loved every page. I highly recommend most of this author’s other books but especially Conclave (see my review here), Fatherland and Act of Oblivion (see review here) which, until now, were my favourite of his novels