Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, Complete and Unabridged

Product Information

While at Lexington, Gen. Smith gave Brig. Gen. Henry Heth permission to make a "demonstration" on Cincinnati, granting him approximately 8,000 men. Heth moved within a few miles of Fort Mitchell and exchanged skirmish fire with men from the 101st Ohio Infantry, 103rd Ohio Infantry, and 104th Ohio Infantry on September 10–11, then returned to Lexington on September 12, 1862.

Popular novels of Christ's life, such as Reverend J. H. Ingraham's The Prince of the House of David (1855), preceded Wallace's novel, while others such as Charles M. Shedon's "In His Steps": What Would Jesus Do? (1897) followed it, but Ben-Hur was among the first to make Jesus a major character in a novel. [6] Members of the clergy and others praised Wallace's detailed description of the Middle East during Jesus's lifetime and encouraged their congregations to read the book at home and during Sunday School. [81] One Roman Catholic priest wrote to Wallace: "The messiah appears before us as I always wished him depicted". [6] a b Roy Kinnard; Tim Davis (1992). Divine Images: A History of Jesus on the Screen. New York: Carol Publishing Group. p.29. ISBN 0-80651-284-9.Since its first publication, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ has never been out of print. It outsold every book except the Bible until Gone With the Wind came out in 1936, and resurged to the top of the list again in the 1960s. By 1900 it had been printed in thirty-six English-language editions and translated into twenty others, including Indonesian and Braille. a b c d e f Jon Solomon (2008). "Fugitive Sources, Ben-Hur, and the Popular Art "Property" ". RBM. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. 9 (1): 68 . Retrieved 2014-10-27. Ben-Hur 's success encouraged the publication of other historical romance stories of the ancient world, including G. J. Whyte-Melville's The Gladiators: A Tale of Rome and Judea (1870), Marie Corelli's Barabbas (1901), and Florence Morse Kingsley's Titus, A Comrade of the Cross (1897). [67] Critics point to problems such as flat characters and dialogue, unlikely coincidences driving the plot, and tedious and lengthy descriptions of settings, but others note its well-structured plot and exciting story, [76] with its unusual mix of romanticism, spiritual piety, action, and adventure. [46] A New York Times review in 1905 referred to Ben-Hur as Wallace's masterwork, further noting it "appealed to the unsophisticated and unliterary. People who read much else of worth rarely read Ben-Hur". [80] In another familiar Biblical scene, on the banks of the Jordan, where John the Baptist blesses Jesus, we see the scene through the eyes of Ben-Hur, who is suspicious of the unwashed, unkempt John and also of a supposed king dressed as a modest rabbi and covered in dust. “Despite his familiarity with the ascetic colonists in En-Gedi—their dress, their indifference to all worldly opinion, their constancy to vows which gave them over to every imaginable suffering of body . . . still Ben-Hur’s dream of the King who was to be so great and do so much had colored all his thought of him.” Like many, he expected to see heralds and courtiers like those in Rome and was confused by what was actually in front of him.

Wallace confessed in his autobiography that he took up writing as a diversion from studying law. Although he wrote several books, Wallace is best known for his historical adventure story, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880), which established his fame as an author. [121] The author of Ben Hur ’s military career included service in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. Later on, he was also appointed as Indiana’s adjutant general. In fact, he even commanded the 11th Indiana Infantry Regiment. Ben-Hur is a tale of vengeance and spiritual forgiveness that includes themes of Christian redemption and God's benevolence through the compassion of strangers. A popular theme with readers during Gilded Age America, when the novel was first published, was the idea of achieving prosperity through piety. In Ben-Hur, this is portrayed through Judah's rise from poverty to great wealth, the challenges he faces to his virtuous nature, and the rich rewards he receives, both materially and spiritually, for his efforts. [6] Style [ edit ]a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Amu Lifton (2009). "Ben-Hur: The Book That Shook the World". Humanities. Washington, D.C.: National Endowment for the Humanities. 30 (6). Archived from the original on 15 October 2015 . Retrieved April 20, 2010. By the time of Ben-Hur 's publication in 1880, Wallace had already published his first novel, The Fair God; or, The Last of the 'Tzins (1873), and Commodus: An Historical Play (1876) that was never produced. He went on to publish several more novels and biographies, including The Prince of India; or, Why Constantinople Fell (1893), a biography of President Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and The Wooing of Malkatoon (1898), but Ben-Hur remained his most significant work and best-known novel. [38] [39] Humanities editor Amy Lifson named Ben-Hur as the most influential Christian book of the 19th century, while others have identified it as one of the best-selling novels of all time. [1] [40] Carl Van Doren wrote that Ben-Hur was, along with Uncle Tom's Cabin, the first fiction many Americans read. [6] Wallace's original plan was to write a story of the biblical magi as a magazine serial, which he began in 1873, but he had changed its focus by 1874. [41] Ben-Hur begins with the story of the magi, but the remainder of the novel connects the story of Christ with the adventures of Wallace's fictional character, Judah Ben-Hur. [4] [5] Influences [ edit ] Grant, Ulysses S. (1885–1886). Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. Vol.I & II. New York: Charles L. Webster and Co. ISBN 0-914427-67-9.

Ben-Ari, Nitsa (2002). "The Double Conversion of Ben-Hur: A Case of Manipulative Translation" (PDF). Tel Aviv University . Retrieved 2014-10-01. Following President Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, Wallace was appointed to the military commission that investigated the Lincoln assassination conspirators. The commission, which began in May, was dissolved on June 30, 1865, after all eight conspirators were found guilty. [98] In mid-August 1865, Wallace was appointed head of an eight-member military commission that investigated the conduct of Henry Wirz, the Confederate commandant in charge of the South's Andersonville prison camp. The court-martial which took nearly two months, opened on August 21, 1865. At its conclusion Wirz was found guilty and sentenced to death. [19] [99] Valerius Gratus is the fourth imperial (Roman) procurator of Judea. [21] Judah is falsely accused of attempting to assassinate him. [22]First edition from the collections of the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, Crawfordsville, IN. During the next three years, that man, Jesus, preaches his gospel around Galilee, and Ben-Hur becomes one of his followers. He notices that Jesus chooses fishermen, farmers, and similar people, considered "lowly", as apostles. Judah has seen Jesus perform miracles, and is now convinced that the Christ really had come. Morrow, Barbara Olenyik (1994). From Ben-Hur to Sister Carrie: Remembering the Lives and Works of Five Indiana Authors. Indianapolis, Indiana: Guild Press of Indiana. ISBN 978-1-87820-860-6. Miller, Howard (June 2008). "The Charioteer and the Christ: Ben-Hur in America from the Gilded Age to the Culture Wars". Indiana Magazine of History. Bloomington: Indiana University. 104 (2): 153–75 . Retrieved 2014-09-27. At a meeting in Bethany, Ben-Hur and his Galilean followers organize a resistance force to revolt against Rome. Gaining help from Simonides and Ilderim, he sets up a training base in Ilderim's territory in the desert. After some time, Malluch writes announcing the appearance of a prophet believed to be a herald for the Christ. Judah journeys to the Jordan to see the prophet, meeting Balthasar and Iras traveling for the same purpose. They reach Bethabara, where a group has gathered to hear John the Baptist preach. A man walks up to John, and asks to be baptized. Judah recognizes him as the man who gave him water at the well in Nazareth many years before. Balthasar worships him as the Christ.