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lorna_harrison 's review for:
Precipice
by Robert Harris
This is what I would describe as Historical Fiction. It is an imagining of the story surrounding a lengthy correspondence where one set of letters have survived but the other half destroyed. Throw in the fact that one of the correspondents was the Prime Minister at the onset of World War One and he is horribly indiscreet and you've got the bones of a great story. The page and a half of books read by the author as research indicate a willingness to make it as close to reality as possible.
Asquith (the PM in question) shares a wealth of state secrets and even official papers with Venetia (a woman half his age) who he becomes increasingly obsessed with - often writing several times a day even during cabinet meetings. His letters are the ones that have survived and are quoted exactly as written throughout the book. His level of indiscretion is enough to interest the fledgling MI5 and a fictional detective starts to intercept their letters.
The MI5 plot is fictional but allows another way of looking at their relationship and exposing the text of the letters and telegrams shared between the two. The detective has a younger brother in the army so it also provides the human aspects of the war that comes.
Harris does a good job of connecting the dots and reading between the lines of the letters. He particularly does well with developing Venetia 's growing disquiet with the love letters of a sixty year old man that read like those of a 15 year old. I'm not sure the way he links the two plots together at the end works as well though.
It's an intriguing tale that touches on the life of the aristocracy of the time, hints at the imminent demise of their way of life and also the lack of their awareness of the life of ordinary citizens. Venetia at least has some appreciation of this - her insistence of travelling in 3rd class and her time as a nurse.
Overall an enjoyable read and one that read almost as a thriller in places. The attention to detail is wonderful and you are left wondering at just how indiscreet Asquith was - if his letters had appeared in a purely fictional context it would have been decried as unbelievable.
Asquith (the PM in question) shares a wealth of state secrets and even official papers with Venetia (a woman half his age) who he becomes increasingly obsessed with - often writing several times a day even during cabinet meetings. His letters are the ones that have survived and are quoted exactly as written throughout the book. His level of indiscretion is enough to interest the fledgling MI5 and a fictional detective starts to intercept their letters.
The MI5 plot is fictional but allows another way of looking at their relationship and exposing the text of the letters and telegrams shared between the two. The detective has a younger brother in the army so it also provides the human aspects of the war that comes.
Harris does a good job of connecting the dots and reading between the lines of the letters. He particularly does well with developing Venetia 's growing disquiet with the love letters of a sixty year old man that read like those of a 15 year old. I'm not sure the way he links the two plots together at the end works as well though.
It's an intriguing tale that touches on the life of the aristocracy of the time, hints at the imminent demise of their way of life and also the lack of their awareness of the life of ordinary citizens. Venetia at least has some appreciation of this - her insistence of travelling in 3rd class and her time as a nurse.
Overall an enjoyable read and one that read almost as a thriller in places. The attention to detail is wonderful and you are left wondering at just how indiscreet Asquith was - if his letters had appeared in a purely fictional context it would have been decried as unbelievable.