Lew Wallace: Ben-Hur- A Tale of the Christ

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd; New ed edition (October 9, 1995)
Language: English
Paperback: 382 pages
ISBN-10: 9781853262838
ISBN-13: 978-1853262838
Reading age: 9 - 12 years
Lexile Measure: 990L
Grade: 4 - 7
Item Weight: 8.8 ounces
Dimensions: 4.9 x 0.9 x 7.7 inches

Ben-Hur is better known as a film than as a novel. Cinematic in scope and narrative, it was nevertheless as a book that it first met huge popular success on its publication in 1880. Intended as a moral and inspirational narrative, Judah 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 and the recovery of identity and patrimony, the novel also displays a vivid realism based on Wallace's biblical research and knowledge of the Holy Land. Like other 'toga novels' of the period, Ben-Hur reflects the dissent, division, and moral contradiction of America's emerging imperial culture, the 'New Woman' question, the settlement of the Far West, and even trade unionism. Rich in social parallels, Ben-Hur is both a great historical epic and a window on late nineteenth-century literature.