Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ prosperity through piety. In "Ben-Hur", this is portrayed through Judah's rise from poverty to great wealth, the challenges he faces to his virtuous nature, and the rich rewards he receives, both materially and spiritually, for his efforts. Wallace's adventure story is told from the perspective of Judah Ben-Hur. On occasion, the author speaks directly to his readers. Wallace understood that Christians would be skeptical of a fictional story on Christ's life, so he was careful not to offend them in his writing. "Ben-Hur" "maintains a respect for the underlying principles of Judaism and Christianity". In his memoirs, Wallace wrote:The Christian
Ben Hur (1907 film) on the publicity of the case and the film, Harper & Brothers published a lavishly designed and illustrated book, "The Chariot Race from Ben-Hur", which excerpted only the race from Lew Wallace's novel. Accompanying the text were color illustrations by Sigismond Ivanowski. Actor William S. Hart, soon after to became a famous silent film cowboy, reprises his role as Messala from the 1899 Broadway premiere and 1900 season Broadway play. Herman Rottger is Ben-Hur against Hart's Messala (in the 1900 play William Farnum, another soon to be famous silent cowboy, portrayed the character). The film is noteworthy as a precedent