A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Guardian, The Observer, The Herald, BBC
An intoxicating, brave, and compassionate novel reimagining one of the most passionate love stories of modern British art.
Scotland, 1933. Bobby MacBryde is on his way. After years grafting at Lees Boot Factory, he’s off to the Glasgow School of Art, to his future. On his first day he will meet another Robert, a quiet man with loose dark curls—and never leave his side.
Together they will spend every penny and every minute devouring Glasgow—its botanical gardens, the Barras market, a whole hidden city—all the while loving each other behind closed doors. With the world on the brink of war, their unrivalled talent will take them to Paris, Rome, London. They will become stars as the bombs fall, hosting wild parties with the likes of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, and Elizabeth Smart. But the brightest stars burn fastest.
Stunningly reimagined, The Two Roberts is a profoundly moving story of devotion and obsession, art, and class. It is a love letter to MacBryde and Colquhoun, the almost-forgotten artists who tried to change the way the world sees—and paid a devastating price.
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Guardian, The Observer, The Herald, BBC
An intoxicating, brave, and compassionate novel reimagining one of the most passionate love stories of modern British art.
Scotland, 1933. Bobby MacBryde is on his way. After years grafting at Lees Boot Factory, he’s off to the Glasgow School of Art, to his future. On his first day he will meet another Robert, a quiet man with loose dark curls—and never leave his side.
Together they will spend every penny and every minute devouring Glasgow—its botanical gardens, the Barras market, a whole hidden city—all the while loving each other behind closed doors. With the world on the brink of war, their unrivalled talent will take them to Paris, Rome, London. They will become stars as the bombs fall, hosting wild parties with the likes of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, and Elizabeth Smart. But the brightest stars burn fastest.
Stunningly reimagined, The Two Roberts is a profoundly moving story of devotion and obsession, art, and class. It is a love letter to MacBryde and Colquhoun, the almost-forgotten artists who tried to change the way the world sees—and paid a devastating price.
| Published By | House of Anansi Press Inc — May 5, 2026 |
| Specifications | 320 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in |
| Keywords | Young Mungo; Queer Fiction; 2SLGBTQIA+; Historical Fiction; Peggy; The Great Believers; Rebecca Makkai; Rebecca Godfrey; Douglas Stuart; Shuggie Bain; Booker Prize; Best Fiction Book of 2025; Best Fiction Book of 2026; Books about Artists; Book Club; Pallant House Gallery; Queer Author; Gay Author; Gay Romance; |
| Written By |
DAMIAN BARR is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and journalist. His memoir Maggie & Me, won Stonewall Writer of the Year and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year. His debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here, was shortlisted for six major awards. He hosts the internationally syndicated television show Big Scottish Book Club, now in its sixth series. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in Brighton, England. |
| Written By |
|
DAMIAN BARR is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and journalist. His memoir Maggie & Me, won Stonewall Writer of the Year and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year. His debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here, was shortlisted for six major awards. He hosts the internationally syndicated television show Big Scottish Book Club, now in its sixth series. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in Brighton, England. |
“A moving meditation on art, love and home … Barr mingles comedy and tragedy with wonderful fluidity.”—The Guardian
“Deeply affecting … A vivid and moving portrait.”—The Times
“Barr tells his story with verve and economy and on-point dramatic instinct.”—The Financial Times
“A novel that brims over with generosity and warmth.”— The Observer
“Barr proves that Glasgow has many stories to tell. A funny, charming book that crackles with creative rebellion. It is a pleasure to read and there is real joy in discovering the forgotten history of these working-class antiheroes.”—Douglas Stuart
”“A full-blown treat, historical fiction that brings to life unjustly neglected figures of queer art.”—Patrick Gale
”"The Two Roberts is the greatest and truest story of two male lovers I have ever read." —Russell T. Davies
”“Working-class life and artistic Bohemia collide in this novel of all-consuming passion and the torture of creation. Brilliantly written, poignant, and powerful. This is Damian Barr’s chef-d’oeuvre.”— Ian Rankin
”“We need love stories like these … The two Roberts take up residence in your heart. Utterly absorbing, Damian Barr has pulled off that very difficult thing, to make a historical novel totally contemporary.”— Jackie Kay
”“Extraordinary." — Curtis Garner
”“Epic and touching, and a revelation in its rediscovery of MacBryde and Colquhoun.”—David Nicholls
”“The Two Roberts is beautiful! Beautiful writing. So vivid and alive and human and humane and funny and important!”— Jenni Fagan
”“The writing is beautiful. Barr’s compassion and engagement powerful. Storytelling at its passionate best.”—Esther Freud
”“Damian Barr reimagines the love and squalor of this almost forgotten pair in this effervescent blur of fact and fiction, and illuminates the Roberts’ careering passion and talent as it fizzes from Glasgow, through war-torn Europe to Soho and then Sussex, to finally land for ever in our galleries.”—Raffaella Barker
”“A brilliant and unflinching portrait of love and talent.”—Graham Norton
”“A warm, tender and attentive work—there are deep pleasures in its prose, world-building and sincerity of feeling”—Sarah Perry
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