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The Two Roberts

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The Two Roberts

By: Damian Barr
Narrated by: Michael Abubakar
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About this listen

 A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK
A BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2025 FOR THE GUARDIAN, THE OBSERVER, THE HERALD AND THE BBC

'Crackles with creative rebellion' DOUGLAS STUART
'We need love stories like these. Utterly absorbing' JACKIE KAY
'immersive, intelligent, immensely sensual' ELIF SHAFAK
'A novel that brims over with generosity and warmth' OBSERVER

He will stay like this forever, Robert’s arm draped round him. They will be forever twenty.

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.©2025 Damian Barr (P)2025 Canongate Books Ltd Biographical Fiction Genre Fiction Rome

Critic reviews

'Praise for Maggie and Me: Shocking and funny in equal measure, and will have you weeping with laughter and sorrow' (KATY GUEST)

'The wonderful story of a remarkable man, Maggie & Me is heartbreaking and heartwarming. As gripping as a thriller, laugh-out-loud funny and deeply touching, this book will resonate long after you finish it. A triumph' (SJ WATSON)

'Out of poverty, brutality and prejudice, Damian Barr builds something riveting, touching and painfully funny. His account of growing up under Thatcher's regime defines the experience of a generation. At once personal and universal, Maggie & Me is a work of stealthy genius' (MAGGIE O'FARRELL)

'This amazing book tells the story of an appalling childhood with truth and clarity unsmudged by self-pity. It grips from beginning to end and leaves the reader elated at the fact that such experiences can be overcome and produce a man who can write a book so vivid, so unsentimentally forgiving, and so memorable' (DIANA ATHILL)
All stars
Most relevant
A gripping story brilliantly written and read. Their story brought to life. Will lead you to discover their art. Can’t recommend highly enough.

Outstanding

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Wonderfully written and beautifully narrated, I found the author's afterword incredibly moving. One of the best novels I have read for years.

An astonishingly humane novel

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A window into a fascinating time and place in the world elegantly evoked. Tender glimpses into bohemia, poverty, war and deep though tortured forbidden love - and so beautifully read. I hope you too will fall in love as I did.

First and last a love story...

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The simple complexity, Well told, Well written. Remembered fondly and cherished by the reader. Shared without apology.

What an untold love story, told.

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Does hard work always pay off when you are in a world where the alleged acceptance of being different still relies on wealth.

We all know the answer.

A love story so brilliantly read of times that are so easily forgotten, the fear of being found out, the forced daily micro corrections.

The writing is so good that even fleeting characters remain on your memory.

A time that art forgot

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