Ben hur story origin chariot race
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Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
1880 novel by Lew Wallace
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace, published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880, and considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century".[1] It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture productions.
Ben-Hur remained at the top of the U.S. all-time bestseller list until the 1936 publication of Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. The 1959 MGM film adaptation of Ben-Hur is considered one of the greatest films ever made and was seen by tens of millions, going on to win a record 11 Academy Awards in 1960, after which the book's sales increased and it surpassed Gone with the Wind.[2] It was blessed by Pope Leo XIII, the first novel ever to receive such an honour.[3] The success of the novel and its stage and film adaptations also helped it to become a popular cultural icon that was used to promote numerous commercial products.
The story recounts the adventures of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince from Jerusalem, who is enslaved by the Romans at the beg
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Lew Wallace published the book Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1880. He was a Union General in the Civil War, a lawyer, politician and author.
The reason Wallace wrote the book involves a conversation with Robert Ingersoll, the leading atheist of his time who travelled the country giving popular speeches against God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, heaven and hell.
One evening General Wallace was on a train going from Crawfordsville, Indiana to Indianapolis when he heard someone call out his name. Ingersoll had been a colonel with the 11th Illinois Cavalry and had served under General Wallace. He invited the General into his compartment to talk. Ingersoll challenged Wallace’s religious beliefs. When he departed the train, Wallace decided to look into what he did and did not believe. In his Autobiography Wallace describes the scene on the train:
“Ingersoll was in prime mood; and beginning, his ideas turned to speech, slowing like a heated river. His manner of putting things was marvelous; and as the Wedding Guest was held by the glittering eye of the Ancient Mariner, I sat spellbound, listening to a medley of argument, eloquence, wit, satire, audacity, irreverence, poetry, brilliant antitheses, and pungent excoriation of believers in God, Christ, and Heaven, the like