ROGER LEWIS
Precipice
By Robert Harris Hutchinson £22
Many and various were the origins of the First World War, as postulated by historians: the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; anti-Serbian feelings in Austria, which led to a general mobilisation; Germany mobilising to meet a (pro-Serbian) Russian threat; France finding itself bound by treaty to stand with Russia – and as France was Britain’s ally, we couldn’t with any honour remain neutral. Not that anyone wanted to remain that. It was as if people were fed up with Edwardian tranquillity and prosperity, and spoiled for a fight. So in August 1914, leave was cancelled, officers returned to base, and ‘all across Europe – everyone moving into position, everything tending in the same direction, towards the precipice ... There’s an instinct for destruction in these tribal conflicts.’ All too true and factually verifiable. Yet Robert Harris now adds another dimension to the causes of chaos: shagging. Prime Minister Asquith, 61...
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