Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ

by Lew Wallace, Steven Hines (Editor)

Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. His old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. They become bitter enemies. Because of an unfortunate accident, Ben-Hur is sent to slave in the mines while his family is sent to leprosy caves. As Messala is dying from being crushed in a chariot race, he reveals where Ben-Hur's family is. On the road to find them, Ben-Hur meets the Christ as he is on the road to Golgotha to be crucified. That day changes Ben-Hur's life forever, for that is the day he becomes a believer.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Religion

428 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2005

About the author

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

Reviews

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. It's true you have to push through more words than a modern novel, but the strands tied together into a beautiful tapestry.

[Videlle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly penned, one that manages not only to encapsulate dreamlike realities, but educate you. Enriched I am with the ageless adventure of a soul, old as it may be as the man himself. I felt compelled and had my own reasons to read the book as well, and I did so through the angle of the 1959 incomparable masterpiece of a movie. Yet the book, revealed to me its own charming flavor, its prose never failing to bring a smile to my face. A story that is as heroic as it is heartbreaking, and even if I do not entirely agree with the message the book conveys, still I have a couple of chapters which did not make it to the movie yet appealed to me just as much. I treasured every single line, it would be unfair if not utterly impossible for me to pick a favorite. Now that it has come to an end, I am eternally indebted to a story that kindled passion in my heart, the like of which I only experienced years ago as a child. I feel inspired to dream and never cease writing what my heart bids me to. And in my heart I will keep it, until those very dreams take shape into realities to be proud of. If you ever feel the need to lose yourself in the charm of centuries ago which echo of undying prose the wind carries proudly to this very day and beyond, give this a chance you not only will not regret but cherish with all a human heart is capable of offering to the creative mind of a man, much like you and I, now sealed in ink on pages that boldly challenge time with their divine magic.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard of the movie and I likely watched it as a child, though have little memory of it. The author of this version of the original book, Lee Wallace, re-wrote this in 1959 in an attempt to modernize this classic historical-fiction novel. It takes place in Rome near the time when Jesus was born and up to and past his death. Judah Ben-Hur is the main character, a Jew, from a prominent wealthy family, who finds himself betrayed by a Roman, he had thought was his friend. Judah is made a slave and prisoner in the mines and later on a ship. The cruelty of the Roman regime of that time is well depicted by the author. The story continues, with small encounters and stories of Jesus and his disciples that Judah becomes aware of. I thought the book was quite interesting and the author does a great job describing that time in history and the anguish of many. I am glad I read this and hope to watch the old movie again with a better perspective.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely my all-time favorite novel!
Where do I even begin? Lew Wallace has wonderfully spun a tale of faith, love, hope mixed with jealousy, envy, anger & revenge. It's balance cannot be missed, and at times I could even feel my own inner voice questioning me on certain core issues of my Christian faith. Truly a must-read classic for all ages!!! ❤️

[Madeline Meeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the best historical fiction I’ve ever read. The writing style is definitely dated, but that didn’t detract from the story. I was moved to tears regularly.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roman occupation of Judea was no more benefic than occupations of various nations of other continents by nations from Europe in modern times, it is only that attempts to wipe out memory of that older occupation - or if not wipe out then bury it under a plethora of lies galore - is older, and conquistadores write history while wiping out that of those occupied and enslaved even in the later era. Here one sees the occupation as it was, and the crucifixions (- not only one, that of a Divine Being, but doubtless plenty of good men amongst those that were criminals against humanity and not merely against the occupying rulers -) as a part of it, unlike the later lies forced on those that chose to believe them. This story focuses on one that was amongst the wealthy and on equal footing with the occupying Romans due to his status and education, and was enslaved during that occupation due partly to the jealousy of the rulers and particularly one that called him a friend, and partly to his having taken side with his poor people rather than the cruel occupational forces in the injustices they committed. In this he was not unlike any other freedom fighter, Divine or otherwise, but unlike his more famous contemporary (since then appropriated by the occupying colonial rulers while driving out, persecuting, falsely blaming and all but wiping out his people) persona, he was not crucified outright, but rather enslaved personally and tortured on and on. His fate and his personal qualities were his only help in freeing him - and bringing back his family to life was another matter, that of divine intervention.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have contemplated reading this historical fiction novel for decades. The reason I hesitate was that it was written by a 19th century former general. I had feared an overly dry historical book heavy with a faith message. Instead, I read a decent novel about a wronged Jewish man trying to locate and re-unite his family. He meets one of the magi, Balthazar and a bombastic sheik, Ilderim who provide guidance and differing wisdom on how to deal with his former friend. Mesala. Mesala is a secondary character who represents corruption and betrayal. Overall, the tale bears some resemblance to the movie but there are major changes in main characters, incidents and a rather pedestrian view of faith. Judah Ben-Hur does experience a spiritual revival which comes in the last 100 pages of the book. Ben-Hur is a man driven to reclaim his family and position. He stumbles along and seems to be at the mercy of forces beyond his control. He bears little resemblance to the Charlton Heston film portrayal of the character. In the end, he finds solace and peace after witnessing the miracles of Jesus, His ministry, and His cruxifiction & resurrection. The book is a good read but not as good as the film version of the 1950s.

Overall, I found this book harder to read because Lew Wallace spends too much time describing secondary facts and his characters are too one-dimensional. There were pages where I had to skim through due to the dryness of the writing. It was a decent read but I will shelve this book. The movie version of the 1950s is a full-bodied tale while the book pales in comparison.

[Lorna]

This edition was the Readers Digest edition which included the entire text of Wallace's novel. Great book. With this complete edition there were many stories within the story, much great description of the customs and religions of Arabs, Jews, Romans and Egyptians, besides being, basically, a very spiritual book. His narrative style made me feel I was right there seeing everything he was describing which was well worth the often very lengthy and detailed descriptive sections.

Two negatives: His portrayal of Jesus' physical appearance is in no way indicated by scripture. Too effeminate and other worldly. And although the chapter on the Crucifixion was powerful, there was no reference to the Resurrection. I also felt the ending seemed a little anti-climactic but that may have been due to the omission of the Resurrection

It as till a compelling novel and I would highly recommend it.

[Matthew Schrock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the last part of this book very interesting, and the first part pretty dull. Even though it is historical fiction, I thought it gives an interesting perspective that some people thought that Jesus was going to set up a literal kingdom right then and there. I had a few differences with doctrines in the book. I did not like at all how the author portrayed Jesus as an almost feminine person and with long hair. I probably won't ever read it again because it's a really long and drawn out book, but it is an interesting view of how Jesus' ministry might've appeared to some people at that time.

[L8blmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently picked up this seriously abridged version of the classic tale to remind me of the complete novel which I must have read a LONG time ago since I had forgotten most of it. In fact, I remember more about the old movie, starring Charlton Heston (especially the chariot race - who could forget that?). At 91 pages, this little book served its purpose; the salient details were covered, character names were refreshed in my mind, and though I can't say I am a real fan of Mr. Wallace's writing style, I did enjoy, again, the basic story.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so long, and started out slow, but it was a wonderful read. As a Christian, I really enjoyed the weaving of the Christ story into a story that could have really happened during his time--well, maybe. Judah's character and his strength were inspiring. His family ties and background, as well as all the main characters, just made the story so rich. It's not a quick read, but it's well worth it.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though some portions moved along quickly and had some excitement, the book overall was a drag to read. Some of that is its age and style, but I just couldn't make myself read this and only finished to fulfill a challenge.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a solid novel ... hats off to Lew Wallace

[Ilsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ultimate classic. Just as good as the movie, but it has more storyline and is more than just revenge of Ben-Hur at Messalah. Super Awesome.

[David K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at how high society lifestyles interacted in the Roman hierarchy.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book, very descriptive. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[MV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book have been in my bookcase for years.. I had no idea what is what about, but I liked a lot.