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 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ 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". 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 US all-time bestseller list until the publication of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" (1936). The 1959 MGM film adaptation