The 1925 Ben-Hur cinematic adaptation marked the end of two eras. MGM’s colossal production epitomized and culminated the tradition of spectacular silent epics. Additionally, the film came at the end of almost six decades in which Wallace’s “Tale of the Christ” was never far from the center of American religious […]
Lew Wallace
24 posts
We had a great crowd last night for Dr. Howard Miller’s lecture “Religious Conversion in Ben-Hur and in the Life of Lew Wallace.” We also streamed the lecture on Facebook Live, which was a popular option for those who couldn’t be with us in person. If you were unable to […]
In 1907, an interview with General Lew Wallace was published giving some insight into his habits and personal beliefs. The brief interview had taken place a few years earlier when Wallace was on the lecture circuit. Here are some interesting excerpts: He has himself described his daily habits: ‘I begin to write […]
We have a special evening planned for April 10 to celebrate Lew’s 187th birthday! The Indy Eleven, Indianapolis’ professional soccer club, will be joining us in Crawfordsville to honor the man whose regiment they are named after. The Indy Eleven are kicking off their inaugural season with a match on […]
Tomorrow is the anniversary of Lew’s death in 1905. Lew died at his home in Crawfordsville on February 15. Wallace Scholar Chandler Lighty at the Indiana Historic Newspaper Digitization Project has a great blog post about Lew Wallace’s obituary. The post collects several of Lew’s obituaries from across the country. […]
Lew Wallace is widely remembered for the successful movie interpretations of his masterwork Ben-Hur in 1925 and 1959. These were not the only times the General’s name (and even the General) showed up in Hollywood movies. In 1914, Wallace’s book, The Prince of India, was adapted as a silent movie. […]
One of our Facebook friends recently asked us about Lew’s speech given in Philadelphia after Lincoln’s famous “Hung in Black” speech. As a result, we adapted our research and response for this post. The 1864 Republican National Convention On June 7 and 8, 1864, the Republican National Convention met in […]
The Angel of Grief by William Wetmore Story is one of the most evocative stone carvings of the late nineteenth century. It became so famous that the term has become synonymous with many grave stones erected in Story’s style. William Wetmore Story William Wetmore Story was born in 1819 in […]
One hundred and fifty years ago in April of 1862, the Battle of Shiloh raged in Tennessee. Considered one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, it saw its share of men who would go down in history. Some of these men would be remembered for their valor that […]
It took Lew Wallace almost 30 years to write and publish his first novel, The Fair God. He started working on it at about the age of 19 in the 1840s and published it in 1873 at age 46. After the success of his first book, it took him approximately […]