General Lew Wallace Study & Museum

For Educators \| For Kids \| For Researchers Resources: Kids Lew Wallace, Author. Ambassador \| Artist \| Author \| General \| Inventor \| Musician \| Back To Start Being an author today is very much the same as it was during Lew Wallace's life. A good author creates stories and characters that are interesting to many people. Lew Wallace wrote seven books. He wrote historical fiction, a biography of Benjamin Harrison, his own autobiography, and a play. Wallace’s most famous book, Ben-Hur, was published in 1880. It’s the story of a Jewish Prince, Judah Ben-Hur, who is made a slave by his boyhood friend, Messala. Judah Ben-Hur is set free because of his bravery and seeks revenge against Messala. One of the most exciting parts of the story is a chariot race between Judah Ben-Hur and Messala. Ben-Hur is set during the beginning of Christianity and was the first novel to use Jesus Christ as a character. The story of Ben-Hur was so popular that it was made into a stage play in 1899, a silent movie in 1925, and one of the first epic movies in 1959. Lew Wallace’s wife, Susan Wallace, was also an author. She wrote six books. One of her books is a short story called "Ginevra: A Christmas Story." Lew Wallace drew the pictures that go along with the story. Sometimes we measure how successful an author is by the number of books he or she sells. There were probably more copies sold of Ben-Hur than any other book in the 1800s. Authors today sell many more books than authors did during Lew Wallace's lifetime. This is because many more people know how to read today, and books do not cost as much money as they did in the 1800s. Interesting Links: Judy Blume Harry Potter Books Lemony Snicket Definitions: Author: a person who writes books, essays, stories and articles Historical Fiction: an imagined story that uses details, events, and people from history Biography: the story of someone’s life written by another person Autobiography: the story of someone’s life told by himself or herself Epic Movie: a movie that tells the story of a hero. An epic movie usually uses hundreds of actors, has beautiful scenery and costumes, and costs a lot of money to make.