Ben Hur

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘The happiness of love is in action; its test is what one is willing to do for others.’ In first-century Judea, Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur is falsely accused of assassinating a Roman governor, and sentenced to life as a galley slave. His fortunes are reversed when he saves the captain’s life and he returns, determined to seek his revenge against those who have brought misfortune to both himself and his...

An immediate best-seller on publication, Ben Hur remains a dazzling achievement by any standards. A thoroughly exhilarating tale of betrayal, revenge and salvation, it is the only novel that ranks with Uncle Tom's Cabin as a genuine American folk possession. This was the book that finally overcame the inherent suspicion of fiction that still prevailed in much of America in the late nineteenth century. Wallace writes with a freshness and immediacy that brings every action-packed scene to...