Precipice by Robert Harris

This is the latest historical novel by Robert Harris. The principal characters and plot, is the love affair carried out through their correspondence, between the British Prime Minister, Henry Herbert Asquith and Venetia Stanley during the early stages of the Great War.

However, that correspondence as an historical record is one sided, as we have H. H. Asquith’s voluminous – obsessive – letters, but none from Venetia Stanley, as Asquith burned them in December 1916. Mr Harris therefore, reproduces many of the actual letters of H. H. Asquith, but those from Venetia Stanley are fictional.

Henry Herbert Asquith, was the last Liberal Prime Minister of Britain and met the aristocratic Venetia Stanley, a friend of his daughter Violet, prior to the Great War. During the period of the novel, July 1914 to May 1915, Venetia Stanley is in her late 20s and H. H. Asquith is in his early 60s.

The novel has three pillars: the relationship; the politics; and an investigation of the national security implications of the letters being sent through the public mail system. The first two pillars work wonderfully, but the investigation part is not required for plot development.

Notwithstanding the above reservation, this is a good historical novel of individuals trying to navigate their way through complex relationships, within the context of one of the worst times in human history.

Reviewed by Stuart McMartin
SMSA Member