Precipice Audiobook By Robert Harris cover art

Precipice

A Novel

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Precipice

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

“Robert Harris is, simply put, masterful.”—Karin Slaughter

A spellbinding novel of passion, intrigue, and betrayal set in England in the months leading to the Great War from the bestselling author of Act of Oblivion, Fatherland, The Ghostwriter, and Munich.

Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.

In London, twenty-six-year-old Venetia Stanley—aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless—is part of a fast group of upper-crust bohemians and socialites known as “The Coterie.” She’s also engaged in a clandestine 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 with Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents. Suddenly, what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that could topple the British government—and will alter the course of political history.

An unrivaled master of seamlessly weaving fact and fiction, Precipice is another electrifying thriller from the brilliant imagination of Robert Harris.

©2024 Robert Harris (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers
20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Thriller & Suspense World War I War England Fiction

What listeners say about Precipice

Highly rated for:

Fascinating History Well-written Story Superb Narration Compelling Storytelling Informative Account
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outstanding in every way


First, this reading was superb. I am admirer of Samual West an actor in many different roles, brilliant as an admirable character and equally good as a despicable one.
The story was as well written as all Harris' books and has the added value of being historically accurate. It is a wonderful insight into a terrible period of British history.

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9 people found this helpful

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untold story

liked it all. Robert Harris' novels have terrific pace. I learn so much in each one. great storyteller. If I could write a book, this is how I'd do it. thank you Mr Harris

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Love Robert Harris but this was a bit boring

One of my favorite authors. This was his only book that was a bit boring. Lacked the bombshell twist you expect in his books

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An unlikely wartime love story-but true!

The narration by Samuel West was superb and kept me going when the story of Asquith’s obsessive relationship with Venetian wore thin! The backdrop of the First World War was titillating and inspired one to do more research about the characters. Asquith’s character as a lovestruck man served the purpose of the book but was not quite satisfying as a measure of the whole man. As usual Harris writes splendidly and one can participate in the story as if one were actually there in time and place.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fascinating

Fascinating book.

There is only so much that a high school history class can cover.

I read a number of books about this time in history, but none that have been so clear about the British government during that time.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

The ridiculous love letters from the Prime Minister

Totally unlike the authors, usual books, this one is just silly. Period maybe people wrote such letters 100 years ago, but I found them offputting. There isn’t much of a pot on top of that.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unbelievably interesting

It is hard to believe that this novel is based on actual correspondence. If you were not informed of this fact in the first minute you would question the author’s excess creativity. Knowing that fact makes this story hypnotic—constantly asking yourself how a country’s leader in war time could be so self absorbed and delusional. Great rendition of this period by the author and excellent reading.

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6 people found this helpful

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An excellent work of historical fiction

Knowing little about the opening days of World War 1, this is an excellent, though fictional look at what those days were like. The PM at the time is a figure I've not researched. His research and attention to accuracy is incredible.

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

disappointing

book loses direction, starts as procedural but degenerates into sad and trite narrative of love affair, dropping direction and detective element and losing energy.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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It took a few minutes

But finished well. I really enjoyed it. Well narrated and not overly acted. Interesting story arranged well. The fiction blended nicely.

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