Breakaway Books

Authored by Robert Harris; Published September 2024; Historical Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️

I should have paid closer attention to the opening pages of Precipice: I would have noticed that the letters quoted extensively in the book, authored by the prime minister of the UK, are all real. That fact is without a doubt the most shocking part of the entire novel.

Precipice tells the story of an affair between the Prime Minister of the UK and a much younger woman, Venetia Stanley, in the years leading up to and then during World War I. Despite having no job and no experience, Venetia becomes the PM’s closest confidante, a surprisingly well-informed socialite. The first two thirds of this book were irresistible—the tangle of alliances inexorably pulling the UK toward war, the intersection with the Irish fight for independence—but I found the last third directionless.

The letters that the novel is based on are revelatory, depicting the PM as a hopeless romantic devolving deeper and deeper into obsession. There is something truly shocking about the way he is able to ignore all his responsibilities in favor of his dalliance with Venetia; it’s both unbelievable and upsetting, especially as he shares secret after national security secret with the woman. Observing the affair is undoubtedly compelling, like watching a train wreck in progress.

But as the prime minister grows near pathetic in his obsession and Venetia draws away to an independent life of her own, the narrative sputters. It feels like neither the PM nor Venetia have really developed or evolved throughout the book; the narrative lacks a satisfying conclusion. Of course, that is how real life is, but it doesn’t have to be how historical fiction is. I was left wanting for more.

Precipice is an intimate look into English politics in the early twentieth century—if that subject appeals to you’ll, you’ll love this one.