Ben Hur

Lew Wallace’s epic of the ancient world follows Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince of Jerusalem betrayed by his boyhood friend Messala and condemned to the Roman galleys. Years of slavery harden him into a formidable man, and his hunger for revenge builds toward the famous chariot race against the Roman who destroyed his family. Running alongside Judah’s story is the life of Jesus, whose path crosses his at key moments and slowly turns his thirst for vengeance toward something quieter. Published in 1880, the novel became one of the best-selling American books of its century and inspired grand stage spectacles and landmark films. A free PDF and EPUB edition are available here.