‘Precipice’

Just got home from a very enjoyable literary evening just up the road at Layer Marney Tower, the last event of the EA Festival 2024. The acclaimed author of historical fiction, Robert Harris, has a new book out called ‘Precipice’. In it he weaves the love affair of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith and the 26-year-old aristocratic socialite Venetia Stanley into the military political intrigue of Britain on the eve of the first World War. There was a unique twist to Robert Harris’s appearance this evening. Anna Mathias (EA Festival advisor and writer) is the only grand daughter of Venetia Stanley, and it was she who interviewed Robert Harris tonight. Anna’s mother discovered more than 500 letters from Asquith to Venetia after her death in 1948, many containing top secret information which he had freely shared with her. This made it an even more fascinating discussion, shedding a unique light on why Asquith was so obsessed with Venetia.

Robert signed my copy of the book, and he and Anna very kindly posed for a photograph following the interview before mingling with the audience. I can’t wait to begin reading this fascinating real-life story which shows that truth can indeed be stranger than fiction.