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.
An intoxicating, brave, and compassionate novel reimagining one of the most passionate love stories of modern British art.
• BUZZY NEW NOVEL: Published by Canongate Books in the UK, The Two Roberts was named a Best Fiction Book of 2025 by The Guardian and the BBC, with advanced praise from Graham Norton, Ian Rankin, Douglas Stuart, and many others.
• GAY HISTORICAL FICTION: For Rooted in real, turbulent relationship between Scottish artists Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun, The Two Roberts is unapologetically gay historical fiction that honours the love story of these pioneering and radical men.
• THE NEO-ROMANTICS: Refusing to hide their romantic relationship in a time when homosexuality was illegal, the two Roberts were a part of the vibrant and hedonistic Soho art scene in post-War London. This novel vibrates with the wild creativity and existential joys of the rapidly changing 20th century.
