Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ culture: gender and family; slavery and freedom; ethnicity and empire; and nationhood and citizenship". With the chariot race as its central attraction and the character of Judah emerging as a "heroic action figure", "Ben-Hur" enjoyed a wide popularity among readers, similar to the dime novels of its day; however, its continued appearance on popular lists of great American literature remained a source of frustration for many literary critics over the years. The novel had millions of fans, including several influential men in politics. U.S. president and American Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. president James Garfield, and Jefferson Davis,
Ben-Hur (play) Wallace's novel. The character of Ben-Hur was initially cast with Walker Whiteside, but he was replaced by Edward J. Morgan at the last minute. William Farnum replaced Morgan after the show's first season. William S. Hart played Messala. Hart would go on to leading roles in silent films such as "The Aryan" (1916), and became a silent screen cowboy hero. Farnum also appeared in several films, including "The Spoilers" (1914). The character of Christ was "represented as a 25,000-candlepower beam of light" and not portrayed by an actor. The resulting production of "Ben-Hur" opened at the Broadway Theater in New