Lewis Wallace

Ben Hur Lewis Wallace

'That moment Malluch, in the gallery, saw Ben-Hur lean forward over his Arabs, and give them the reins. Out flew the many folded lash in his hand; over the backs of the startled steeds it writhed and hissed...' Ben-Hur is readily associated with its four film versions, yet Lew Wallace's epic novel of 1880 was a huge bestseller, written by a former soldier who had fought in American Civil War. Intended as a moral and inspirational narrative, Ben-Hur's life parallels that of Jesus as he makes a journey of discovery and enlightenment through the Mediterranean world from Jerusalem through Nazareth to the galleys that carry him to shipwreck in the Aegean, and, finally, Rome. A spiritual tale of the quest for love, the recovery of identity and patrimony, Ben-Hur's vivid description is based on a breadth of research into the Bible and the Holy Lands that never fails to delight in its detail and realism. Like many other 'toga novels', Ben-Hur is also marked by traces of contemporary issues - the dissent, division and moral contradiction of emerging imperial cultures, the 'New Woman' question, and even trade unionism.
Unlike the film versions, the novel is a rich source of American Victorian concerns and tensions, as well as being one of the most entertaining of its genre.