The Two Roberts by Damian Barr - ISBN: 9781805301547
Hardcover
Love, art, and hidden lives ignite in a pre-war world.

The Two Roberts

$42.43

  • Hardcover

    320 pages

  • Release Date

    2 December 2025

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Summary

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

‘Vivid and alive. A truly great story penned by one of Scotland’s finest writers’ JENNI FAGAN

‘A novel that brims over with generosity and warmth’ OBSERVER

He will stay like this forever, Robert’s arm draped r…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781805301547
ISBN-10:1805301543
Author:Damian Barr
Publisher:Canongate Books
Imprint:Canongate Books
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:320
Release Date:2 December 2025
Weight:425g
Dimensions:220mm x 141mm x 27mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

‘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

‘The Roberts live once more! A brilliant and unflinching portrait of love and talent. Spending time in this world, so beautifully filled with detail and atmosphere, was a real pleasure’ - GRAHAM NORTON

‘The greatest and truest story of two male lovers I have ever read. A masterpiece’ - RUSSELL T DAVIES

‘Vivid and alive … A truly great story penned by one of Scotland’s finest writers’ - JENNI FAGAN

‘A warm, tender and attentive work - there are deep pleasures in its prose, world-building and sincerity of feeling’ - SARAH PERRY

‘Extraordinary. Barr is a gifted storyteller and a miraculous scene painter. The Two Roberts has a huge beating human heart’ - CURTIS GARNER

‘A full-blown treat’ - PATRICK GALE

‘We need love stories like these. The two Roberts take up residence in your heart. Utterly absorbing’ - JACKIE KAY

‘At once joyful and tender, raucous and tragic … A novel suffused with yearning and passion - for art, for life and most of all, for love’ - MARY PAULSON-ELLIS

About The Author

Damian Barr

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 and named a Book of the Year in the Observer, Guardian and Mail. He has written columns for The Times and Sunday Times and hosted Front Row on BBC Radio 4 as well as his own series Guide Books. In 2019, Damian brought books back to television with the Big Scottish Book Club, now in its sixth series and syndicated internationally. Also on BBC TV, he presented Shelf Isolation and the landmark documentary for Sir Walter Scott’s 250th. Damian holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His world-famous Literary Salon ran from 2008 to 2023, celebrating writers from around the world and widening the cultural conversation. He is a trustee of Gladstone’s Library and a campaigner for libraries. He lives in Brighton.

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