Lew Wallace

Author profile

born

in Brookville, Indiana, The United States

April 10, 1827

died

February 15, 1905

gender

male

genre

Historical Fiction, Literature & Fiction

About this author

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Lewis "Lew" Wallace was a lawyer, governor, Union general in the American Civil War, American statesman, and author, best remembered for his historical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

From Civil War Biography:

Although he would have much preferred to be remembered as a highly successful military hero, Lew Wallace has been thwarted in this ambition and is best known as an author. Born in Indiana, he had worked as a clerk and early displayed a fascination for Mexico which would affect him in later years. During the Mexican War he served as a second lieutenant in the lst Indiana but saw only minor action. In 1849 he was admitted to the bar in his native state and seven years later entered the state senate.
With the outbreak of the Civil W...more Lewis "Lew" Wallace was a lawyer, governor, Union general in the American Civil War, American statesman, and author, best remembered for his historical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

From Civil War Biography:

Although he would have much preferred to be remembered as a highly successful military hero, Lew Wallace has been thwarted in this ambition and is best known as an author. Born in Indiana, he had worked as a clerk and early displayed a fascination for Mexico which would affect him in later years. During the Mexican War he served as a second lieutenant in the lst Indiana but saw only minor action. In 1849 he was admitted to the bar in his native state and seven years later entered the state senate.
With the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services, and his assignments included: adjutant general of Indiana (April 1861); colonel, 11th Indiana (April 25, 1861); colonel, 11th Indiana (reorganized August 31, 1861); brigadier general, USV (September 3, 1861); commanding 3rd Division, District of Cairo, Department of the Missouri (February 14-17, 1862); major general, USV (March 21, 1862); commanding 3rd Division, Army of the Tennessee (February 17-June 1862); commanding 8th Corps, Middle Department (March 22, 1864-February 1,1865 and April 19-August 1, 1865); and also commanding the department (March 22, 1864-February 1,1865 and April 19-June 27, 1865).
His career got off to a promising start when he routed an inferior Confederate force at Romney, Virginia. Promoted to brigadier general, he was given charge of a newly organized division in the midst of the operations against Fort Donelson and was soon rewarded with a second star. However, that spring his reputation plummeted after the battle of Shiloh. On the first day his division was stationed north of the main army at Crump's Landing, and a series of contradictory orders from Grant forced him to countermarch his command and delayed his arrival on the main battlefield until the fighting was nearly over. He redeemed himself on the second day, but a scapegoat was needed for the near disaster the day before and this was Wallace. Sent home to await further orders, he offered his services to Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton and, despite his high rank, took temporary command of a regiment during the emergency posed by Kirby Smith's invasion of Kentucky. With Cincinnati threatened, Wallace was placed in charge of a mostly civilian defense force. Through a show of tremendous energy he was able to save the city without a major fight. He was then head of the commission which examined Buell's handling of the invasion and other boards until placed in charge in Maryland in early 1864. There he bought valuable time for the defenders of Washington during Early's drive into the state when he made a stand at Monocacy with an inferior scratch force.
At the close of the war he sat on the court-martial which tried the Lincoln conspirators and presided over that which sent Andersonville chief Henry Wirz to the gallows. He then joined a movement to aid the Juarez forces against Maximilian in Mexico. He tried to raise money and troops and even accepted the title of major general from the Juarez group. On November 30, 1865, he resigned from the U.S. service, but his Mexican venture collapsed and he realized little of the money which he had hoped to gain from it. In later years he was governor of the New Mexico Territory and a diplomat to Turkey. As a prolific writer, who often drew upon his own experiences, he is best remembered for Ben Hur.- A Tale of the Cbrist, one of the most popular novels of the nineteenth century. (less)

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Lew Wallace's Books

Average rating: 3.96 · 11,655 ratings · 338 reviews · 35 distinct works · Similar authors

	Ben-Hur 3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 11,551 ratings — published 1880 — 239 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fair God 3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1998 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Prince Of India, Or, Why Constantinople Fell 3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1893 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ben Hur (Volume 1); A Tale of the Christ 3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ben-Hur Part 2 Of 2 by Lew Wallace, Jim Killavey (Read by) 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace, Robin S. Wright (Editor), Harold King (Illustrator) 3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1972	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Smoke, Sound & Fury: The Civil War Memoirs of Major-General Lew Wallace, U.S. Volunteers 3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Prince of India or Why Constantinople Fell V1 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1893 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The pirate of Topsail Island 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1996	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Prince Of India, Or Why The Constantinople Fell: Volume 2 3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2001 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Lew Wallace…

Quotes by Lew Wallace

“The architect had not stopped to bother about columns and porticos, proportions or interiors, or any limitation upon the epic he sought to materialize; he had simply made a servant of Nature - art can go no further.”
― Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur

tags: architecture, art, nature

12 people liked it

“I know what I should love to do - to build a study; to write, and to think of nothing else. I want to bury myself in a den of books. I want to saturate myself with the elements of which they are made, and breathe their atmosphere until I am of it. Not a bookworm, being which is to give off no utterances; but a man in the world of writing - one with a pen that shall stop men to listen to it, whether they wish to or not.”
― Lew Wallace

11 people liked it

“The happiness of love is in action; its test is what one is willing to do for others.”
― Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur

tags: action, happiness, happy, love, others, sacrifice

8 people liked it

See all Lew Wallace's quotes »

Polls

HISTORICAL FICTION POLL "A"
There will be a series of polls to begin putting together a potential reading list for the "historical fiction folder". I have divided the books into groups of 15 books apiece. Make sure to choose your favorite from each poll and make sure to vote in each of these polls so that we can generate a list according to priorities and interests.

Michael Shaara

KILLER ANGELS BY MICHAEL SHAARA

9 votes, 29.0%

THE TALE OF TWO CITIES BY CHARLES DICKENS

5 votes, 16.1%

LES MISERABLES BY VICTOR HUGO

4 votes, 12.9%

DOCTOR ZHIVAGO BY BORIS PASTERNAK

4 votes, 12.9%

WAR AND PEACE BY TOLSTOY

2 votes, 6.5%

ROB ROY BY WALTER SCOTT

2 votes, 6.5%

THE MAN WHO MADE VERMEERS - UNVARNISHING THE LEGEND OF MASTER FORGER HAN VAN MEEGEREN

1 vote, 3.2%

IVANHOE BY WALTER SCOTT

1 vote, 3.2%

THE GOOD EARTH BY PEARL S. BUCK

1 vote, 3.2%

Esther Forbes

JOHNNY TREMAIN BY ESTHER FORBES

1 vote, 3.2%

BEN HUR BY LEW WALLACE

1 vote, 3.2%

The Cid, Cinna, The Theatrical Illusion (Penguin Classics)

Pierre Corneille

THE CID BY PIERRE CORNEILLE

0 votes, 0.0%

Richard II (Oxford School Shakespeare Series)

RICHARD II BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

0 votes, 0.0%

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING BY TRACY CHEVALIER

0 votes, 0.0%

The Name of the Rose Including Postscript

THE NAME OF THE ROSE BY UMBERTO ECO

0 votes, 0.0%

31 total votes

12 comments

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Lew Wallace

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Quotes by Lew Wallace

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Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Lew Wallace's Books