I would not give a tuppence for the American who has not at least tried to do one of three things, Wallace told a New York Times reporter in 1893. Elements of the story include leprosy, naval battles among galleys, the Roman hippodrome, Roman adoption, Magus Balthasar, the Arab sheikh Ilderim. The book made Lew Wallace a celebrity, sought out for speaking engagements, political endorsements, and newspaper interviews. It depicts the oppressive Roman occupation of ancient Palestine and the origins of Christianity. As adults Judah and Messala become rivals, each hating the other, which leads to Judah's downfall and eventual triumph. Ben-Hur, historical novel by Lewis Wallace, published in 1880 and widely translated. Judah grows up in Jerusalem, during the turbulent years around the birth of Christ. Among his novels and biographies, Wallace is best known for his historical adventure story, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880), a bestselling novel that has been called 'the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century.' 1 Wallace's military career included service in the MexicanAmerican War and the American Civil War.

The central character is Judah, prince of the Hebrew house of Hur. It became the best-selling American novel of the 19th century, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' (1852). The novel was a phenomenal best-seller it soon surpassed Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the best-selling American novel and retained this distinction until the 1936 publication of Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. After years of research in libraries around the world, Wallace, an indifferent Christian, changed his mind about Christianity, and, in 1880, published 'Ben Hur.' By 1889, 400,00 copies had been sold. Wallace's work is part of an important sub-genre of historical fiction set among the characters of the New Testament. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace published on Novemby Harper & Brothers.

1880 lew wallace novel