Ben Hur by Lew Wallace

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ was first published in 1880 and established a new literary genre, the Biblical novel, as a sub-genre of historical fiction. The essence of the genre is a story set in Biblical times with Biblical characters in greater or lesser roles. The novel was wildly successful, surpassing Uncle Tom's Cabin as the best-selling American novel until 1936 when Gone With the Wind became number one. In 1912 alone, a million copies were printed and sold for thirty nine cents apiece. Wallace's work changed the attitude of the clergy toward popular fiction, who encouraged their congregants to read the novel. The Pope blessed it.

The author, Lew Wallace, was a Civil War General for the Union Army, who was later involved in the politics of the southwest territories. During that time, he nearly became a mercenary general for Mexican Revolutionaries, and he was later appointed Governor of the New Mexico Territory. While serving in that post, Wallace met with notorious outlaw Billy the Kid to discuss a pardon, which did not happen. The novel was written while he served as Governor.

By modern standards, the literary quality of the work is uninspiring. The characterization is dull, plot coincidences are not credible, and the descriptions of settings are overwritten; yet, the action driven plot is compelling and accounts for the popularity of the novel and the movies. The historical significance of the novel is much greater than its literary value.

While the title mentions the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth plays a very limited, cameo role. The central characters are all fictitious, including the protagonist, Judah ben Hur, a Hebrew prince of Jerusalem. His conflict is with Messala, a Roman, who was his childhood friend. The storyline traces Judah's fall from his princely status to become a Roman slave and his rise again after saving the life of his Roman owner who becomes his benefactor. There are Christian themes of redemption through his brief encounter with Jesus.

The novel has been made into a movie four times, the most recent in 2003, but the most popular version was the 1959 epic starring Charlton Heston that won eleven academy awards including Best Picture.