Precipice

Robert Harris

$22.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Penguin (Cornerstone)
26 August 2025

Fiction & Literature; Espionage & spy thriller; Second World War fiction; Historical fiction

With themes of love, deception, rivalry and grand world events, this will be our biggest paperback campaign yet

THE BOOK OF THE YEAR, THE TIMES, INDEPENDENT, SPECTATOR, i NEWS

AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'A riveting tale of politics, war and erotic obsession' Sunday Times

'A slam dunk of a plot . . . extraordinary' Nicholas Coleridge, Independent

Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.

In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley - aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless - is having a 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 is assigned to investigate a leak of top secret documents - and suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that will alter the course of political history.

Seamlessly weaving fact and fiction in a way that no writer does better, Precipice is the thrilling new novel from Robert Harris.

By: Robert Harris
Imprint: Penguin (Cornerstone)
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 128mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 373g
ISBN: 9781804941294
ISBN 10: 1804941298
Pages: 544
Publication Date: 26 August 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Robert Harris is the author of fifteen bestselling novels- the Cicero Trilogy - Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator - Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Conclave, Munich, The Second Sleep, V2 and Act of Oblivion. His work has been translated into forty languages and nine of his books have been adapted for cinema and television. He lives in West Berkshire with his wife, Gill Hornby.

Reviews for Precipice

I’m not fond of the word masterpiece, but this is a masterpiece -- Nigella Lawson Brilliantly blurring fact and fiction, Sunday Times bestselling author Robert Harris is back in full force * Dead Good Books - The best crime and thriller books of 2024 * Fans of this hugely popular author should lap up this tale that mixes fact with fiction, as is his trademark * Sunday Express - Best Summer Reads *