Purple and Gold
A historical crime novel set in the dangerous world of Roman chariot racing.
Murder in Purple and Gold is a historical crime novel by British writer Lindsey Davis, the fourteenth in her Flavia Albia series. It was published in the UK on 2 April 2026 by Hodder & Stoughton, and in the United States on 7 July 2026 by Minotaur Books. The book is set in Rome, in the "dangerous and glamourous world of charioteers", with the story starting when Flavia finds the body of dead charioteer Lepos near the Circus Maximus. The action takes place between 25 April and 3 May 90AD, starting with the festival of Robigalia.
Lore & Background
The book is set among the "Factions" which competed in Rome's chariot racing: the traditional blue, green, red and white and the two new factions sponsored by Domitian: purple and gold. The opening sentence is "A murderer needs to know that any body he is dumping will probably be found by a dog-walker." There is a prefatory quote from Pliny the Younger about devotion to the charioteers' racing colours. The list of characters is headed by Flavia Albia and her husband Tiberius Manlius Faustus, described as "a heroic couple", and includes a large cast featuring their relatives (including Albia's parents Falco and Helena) and household, the members of six chariot factions, and miscellaneous others such as "Costus: a thwarted home invader" and "Servata, a motherly auntie: running a bar".
The UK first edition has an "Author's Preface" in which Davis states: "This novel was written by a human being with no use of AI. ... If it makes you laugh, if it makes you think, if it makes you glad we have communicated, then what we used to know as humanity will remain alive."
More in Stadium & Fan Culture
Elsewhere in Los Angeles Lakers
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced