Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ viewed "Ben-Hur" within the context of Wallace's own life. Historian Victor Davis Hanson argues that the novel drew from Wallace's experiences as a division commander during the American Civil War under General Ulysses S. Grant. Hanson compares Wallace's real-life experience in battle, battle tactics, combat leadership, and jealousies among American Civil War military commanders to those of Wallace's fictional character of Judah, whose unintentional injury to a high-ranking military commander leads to further tragedy and suffering for the Ben-Hur family. Wallace made some controversial command decisions, and he delayed in arriving on the battlefield during the first day of the
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Heston. A BBC Radio 4 dramatization of the book in four parts was first broadcast in the United Kingdom in March–April, 1995, starring Jamie Glover as Ben-Hur, with a cast that included Samuel West and Michael Gambon. "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). Other novels adapted Wallace's story: Herman M. Bien's "Ben-Beor" (1891), J. O. A. Clark's "Esther: A Sequel to Ben-Hur" (1892),