Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Annotated
Lewis Wallace
Paperback
(Independently published, Sept. 5, 2020)
Book from: 1880Original Material, contain Author Biography and Story Pictures. Book summary and analysis.Super Summary, a modern alternative to Spark Notes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality study guides for challenging works of literature. This page guide for “Ben-Hur” by Lew Wallace includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 80 chapters, as well as several more in-depth sections of expert-written literary analysis. Featured content includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay topics, and key themes like The Meaning of Christ in Christianity and Vengeance and Mercy.Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace published on November 12, 1880 by Harper & Brothers. Wallace's work is part of an important sub-genre of historical fiction set among the characters of the New Testament. The novel was a phenomenal best-seller; it soon surpassed Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as the best-selling American novel and retained this distinction until the 1936 publication of Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. The central character is Judah, prince of the Hebrew house of Hur. Judah grows up in Jerusalem, during the turbulent years around the birth of Christ. His best friend is Messala, a Roman. As adults Judah and Messala become rivals, each hating the other, which leads to Judah's downfall and eventual triumph. Elements of the story include leprosy, naval battles among galleys, the Roman hippodrome, Roman adoption, Magus Balthasar, the Arab sheikh Ilderim.