Bloody Brilliant People: The Couples and Partnerships That History Forgot
‘Sometimes, 1+1 = changing the world. Cathy Newman’s witty, warm history on the power of determined couples will make you look at your relationship and wonder, “Could we be doing more this weekend than just going to IKEA?”’ CAITLIN MORAN
From rivals propelling each other forwards to friends combining their talents, it’s clear: often two heads are better than one.
How did William and Ellen Craft work together to pull off a perilous cross-country escape from slavery? How did the queer artists Marcel Moore and Claude Cahun become icons of the surrealist movement, then heroines of the resistance in the Second World War? Why couldn’t Steve Jobs have started Apple alone?
Vibrant, feminist and unexpected, Cathy Newman rewrites the history books to expose this strange power of two – and to ask why certain collaborators are so often left out of the narrative.
Previously published as It Takes Two.
”'Sometimes, 1+1 = changing the world. Cathy Newman’s witty, warm history on the power of determined couples will make you look at your relationship and wonder, 'Could we be doing more this weekend than just going to IKEA?” - ’ CAITLIN MORAN
‘A fascinating and illuminating insight into the relationships of extraordinary people. Cathy Newman shows us how and why (to use a familiar phrase) it takes two to tango’BRUNO TONIOLI -
‘Witty and insightful, challenging and unexpected - this book is a joy’RUTH DAVIDSON -
‘A fascinating look at the enduring popularity of the double act, it’s difficulties and intricacies, and just how interwoven duos are with every facet of popular culture and history. Cathy Newman takes us deeper into the relationships we’re familiar with, and lays bare the importance of these relationships in shaping our world’SARA CANNING -
‘This book is chock-full of odd couples who turn out to make perfect sense - just like me and Susanna … We’re a team - and that’s the secret of a successful pairing.It Takes Two on telly - and the world stage’PIERS MORGAN -
‘It’s a fascinating study of couples and collaboration, ending very often in anger and bitterness - Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and so on’MICHAEL MORPURGO, The i -
”'Filled with biographical anecdotes, this eclectic and hugely entertaining romp through the history of duos shows that 'coupledom is a jewel with many facets” - ’GUARDIAN, BEST PAPERBACKS OF THE MONTH, AUGUST 2021