Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ "Ben-Hur" as the most influential Christian book of the 19th century, while others have identified it as one of the best-selling novels of all time. Carl Van Doren wrote that "Ben-Hur" was, along with "Uncle Tom's Cabin", the first fiction many Americans read. Wallace's original plan was to write a story of the biblical magi as a magazine serial, which he began in 1873, but he had changed its focus by 1874. "Ben-Hur" begins with the story of the magi, but the remainder of the novel connects the story of Christ with the adventures of Wallace's fictional character, Judah Ben-Hur.
Messala (Ben-Hur) Balthasar) murders him upon learning the true nature of the Romans. In the 1899 Broadway play. Messala was portrayed by William S. Hart who went on to greater fame starring in western movies. In the Messala was portrayed by Francis X. Bushman as an ambitious and ruthless Roman who ceased to care for Ben-Hur long before being reunited with him. In the 1959 film Messala was portrayed by Stephen Boyd. In contrast with the book, there is a confrontation between Ben-Hur and Messala when Messala asks him to identify rebels. Messala dies in the chariot race - when his attempt