Who is Robert Ross from The Eye in the Door and what is their importance?

In the narrative, Robert Ross is an acquaintance of Charles Manning. In reality and in the novel, Ross was very close friends with Siegfried Sassoon's close friend. Robert Ross was a Canadian journalist who lived from 1869 to 1918. He was also a prominent, openly-gay figure in London who enjoyed close friendships with many literary notables, including the Irish poet/dramatist Oscar Wilde.