Ben Hur

Ben Hur is the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish charioteer whose family is wrongly accused and convicted of treason during the time of Jesus Christ. Judah is ultimately inspired by the rise and message of Christ as he fights to clear his family’s name.

When it was published in 1880, Ben Hur sold over two million copies and was translated into numerous languages. It combines all the best elements of popular classic, epic, and action stories against a background of authoritative historical detail. The pace and immediacy of Ben Hur was the basis of its appeal to film-makers—Charlton Heston’s portrayal of the title role is one of the classics in cinema. Regarded as one of the first “blockbusters,” Wallace’s original novel has been largely forgotten now, but as this vivid reading shows, the story—together with the sweeping rhythm of the writer’s prose—make it ideally suited to the audiobook.