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Title
Spurius: A Novel
Author
David László Conhaim
Illustrator
Jorge González
Publisher
Kulturalis
Format
Illustrated Hardcover
Price
$60.00 USD
Status
Available Now
Genre
Historical Fiction
Cover Art
All images © Kulturalis / Jorge González. For editorial use only. Please credit: Illustration by Jorge González, from Spurius: A Novel (Kulturalis, 2026).
About the Book
Spurius: A Novel is a political whodunit set in ancient Rome in 186 BC — the year after her decisive victory over Hannibal. Consul Spurius Postumius Albinus, a man of iron conviction in an age of dissolving certainties, is dispatched to investigate a series of suspicious deaths linked to the nocturnal rites of the cult of Bacchus.
What begins as a routine inquiry spirals into a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the Roman Senate. Based on events recorded by the historian Livy and confirmed by a surviving bronze plaque now held in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, the novel dramatises one of the most dramatic episodes in Republican history — the Bacchanalia suppression that, according to Livy, claimed some 3,500 Roman lives.
In its finely balanced examination of freedom of belief and the manipulation of truth in times of national emergency, Spurius speaks directly to our troubled world today.
The Kulturalis illustrated edition features vivid full-page and double-page illustrations by renowned Argentinian-born artist Jorge González — previously illustrator of The Folio Society's Lord of the Flies and Los Libros del Zorro Rojo's The Shadow of the Wind — with hand-lettering by Ruth Rowland, whose work appears on album covers for Elton John, Kate Bush, and Cliff Richard.
Key Selling Points
- —Based on documented Roman history
- —Confirmed by surviving bronze plaque
- —Luxury illustrated hardcover
- —Full-page art by Jorge González
- —Hand-lettering by Ruth Rowland
- —Resonant contemporary themes
- —First in a planned trilogy
About the Author
David László Conhaim is a writer and historian whose work sits at the intersection of classical scholarship and literary fiction. His deep engagement with the primary sources of the Roman Republic — particularly Livy's Ab Urbe Condita — informs every page of Spurius, while his instinct for narrative tension keeps the story moving at the pace of a thriller.
Conhaim's research into the Bacchanalia suppression of 186 BC led him to the bronze Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus, one of the oldest surviving Latin inscriptions, now housed in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. That document — a direct order from the Roman Senate — forms the backbone of the novel's historical authenticity.
Spurius is his debut novel and the first volume in a planned trilogy set in the late Roman Republic.
Author Bio (Short)
"David László Conhaim is the author of Spurius: A Novel (Kulturalis, 2026), a political whodunit set in ancient Rome. His work draws on primary Latin sources and confirmed archaeological evidence to bring the late Roman Republic to life. Spurius is the first volume in a planned trilogy."
Free to reproduce with attribution.
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: [email protected]
Kulturalis Publishes Spurius: A Novel — A Luxury Illustrated Historical Fiction Debut Set in Ancient Rome
LONDON / NEW YORK — Kulturalis announces the publication of Spurius: A Novel by David László Conhaim, illustrated by Jorge González. The book is available now on Amazon.
Set in Rome in 186 BC — the year after her decisive victory over Hannibal — Spurius follows Consul Spurius Postumius Albinus as he investigates a series of deaths linked to the nocturnal rites of the cult of Bacchus. What begins as a routine inquiry becomes a conspiracy that will cost 3,500 Romans their lives, according to the historian Livy.
The novel is based on documented historical events, including the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus — one of the oldest surviving Latin inscriptions, now held in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. In its examination of freedom of belief and the manipulation of truth in times of national emergency, Spurius speaks directly to contemporary concerns.
The Kulturalis illustrated edition features full-page and double-page illustrations by Jorge González, whose previous work includes The Folio Society's edition of William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Los Libros del Zorro Rojo's edition of Carlos Ruíz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind. Hand-lettering is by Ruth Rowland, known for album covers for Elton John, Kate Bush, and Cliff Richard.
Spurius: A Novel is available now on Amazon at $60.00 (hardcover). It is the first volume in a planned trilogy.
Publisher: Kulturalis
ISBN: 978-1-83636-040-1
Status: Available Now
Price: $60.00 USD (Hardcover)
Order: amazon.com/dp/1836360401
Press Contact: [email protected]
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