Ben-Hur

Judah Ben-Hur belongs to one of Jerusalem's wealthiest merchant families and descends from the royal house of Judea. His privileged life collapses when Messala, a former close friend, falsely accuses him of plotting to kill the Roman governor. Judah is condemned without a trial to serve as a slave rower on a Roman galley, his mother and sister are imprisoned, and the family's property is confiscated. Just before he is taken aboard ship, he meets Jesus, who offers him water and a measure of hope.

The novel follows Judah through years of bondage as he rises to become a charioteer. He meets Messala again in a chariot race, falls in love with Esther, works to avenge his family, and is drawn toward the faith of the man he met at the start. Throughout, his story keeps intersecting with the life of Christ, and biblical history runs alongside the adventure plot.

Lew Wallace, a Union general in the American Civil War who later served as governor of the New Mexico Territory, first published the novel in 1880. This Harper Perennial Legacy Edition, a paperback from a line of public domain titles, includes an introduction by John Swansburg.