As the fame of Ben-Hur grew in the 1880s, Lew Wallace received countless letters praising the work. In the Lew Wallace Autobiography, Susan Wallace selected a number or eloquent and expressive letters worthy of note for the Autobiography. These included letters to Lew from Paul H. Hayne, Lord Dufferin, President James Garfield, William Wetmore Story, F. Marion Crawford, and C.P. Stone. As a sampling of the letters received, this is an impressive list of names.
Paul H. Hayne, was a poet, editor, and literary critic born and raised in the South. A child born to wealth in Charleston, he entered the Confederate army in 1861. During the bombardment of Charleston in 1862 his home and all of his possessions, including a very large library, were destroyed. After his health failed in service of the Confederacy and with nothing left in Charleston he moved his family to property near Augusta, Georgia where he lived the rest of his life. He greatly influenced a number of Southern writers and he became known in both the North and South as the unofficial poet laureate of the South. Hayne wrote a very long letter to Wallace, to which Wallace responded, also at great length, “ . . . it never occurred to me that it [Ben-Hur] would find favor in the South; much more that you, admittedly the singer of the South, personally a stranger to me, would put yourself to such trouble, and write me a paper so long, so plainly spontaneous, so enthusiastic. Not merely a surprise, it is a most agreeable surprise.”
Lord Dufferin, Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, Viscount of Clandeboye, KP, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC. A long name and list of titles for a man who met, worked with, and liked a fellow with a short name—Lew Wallace. Lord Dufferin met Lew Wallace during their shared tours of diplomatic duty in the Middle East. Dufferin was a popular member of Queen Victoria’s court. He became even more widely known after publishing a best-selling account of his adventures in the North Atlantic. He proved to be one of the most successful diplomats of the 19th century.
William Wetmore Story, was the son of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story. W.W. Story received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. He practiced briefly but determined to devote himself to a career as a sculptor becoming one of the great sculptors of the nineteenth century. He and his family settled in a large apartment in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, which became a center of social life for Americans travelling overseas. One of his most famous statues and one that influenced sculptors throughout the world, was called the Angel of Grief. Story created it for the gravesite of his wife and it is a powerful stone image.
F. Marion Crawford, was born in Italy, the only son of the American sculptor Thomas Crawford and Louise Cutler Ward. Marion’s maternal aunt was Julia Ward Howe and when he lived in the United States he often lived with her. He studied at St. Paul’s School, Cambridge University, the University of Heidelberg, and the University of Rome. He travelled to India where he studied Sanskrit which he pursued at Harvard. After a disappointing singing audition, he was asked to pen a short story in 1882 based on his experiences in India. It was an immediate success and he began a prolific writing career. One of the most popular novelists of his day, he counted among his close personal friends, Isabella Stewart Gardner and Sarah Bernhardt. Crawford and Lew Wallace had met in passing and Wallace suggested the young Crawford visit Constantinople. Based in large part on Wallace’s suggestion he decided to take the trip and prior to leaving, he wrote Wallace: “. . .I could have told you of sleepless nights spent in New York, two years ago, in reading and rereading the marvelous description of the chariot-race, and the many wonderful passages of vivid interest you have so skillfully woven in those most fascinating pages.”
Charles Pomeroy Stone, was a graduate of West Point in 1845 and a civil engineer and surveyor who fought with distinction in the Mexican War and the Civil War. He was reportedly the first man to volunteer for the Union Army at the outset of war in 1861. Suffering a significant loss at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff in October 1861, he was singled out for his performance, arrested and imprisoned for almost six months. His arrest and imprisonment were the result of political intrigue surrounding George McClellan and in direct violation of military procedure. Stone never went to trial and was finally released but also never held a significant command during the war. He went on to serve with distinction as a general in the Egyptian Army based on the recommendation of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Stone is also remembered for his role as chief engineer for the construction of the base for the Statue of Liberty. In his letter to Wallace, Stone wrote in reference to The Fair God, Wallace’s first book. Stone discussed his love of Mexico and the countless books he had read on the conquest. He wrote “ . . .But no one before you has approached my imagination of the Aztecs and their conquerors. You have filled my idea. I admire you and thank you for it. Your beautiful book arrived just as we were in the midst of our packing up to leave Egypt.”
James Garfield, the 20th president of the United State. He served from March of 1881 until his death as the result of an assassin’s bullet in September of 1881. Wallace and Garfield had known each other as a result of their service in the Civil War. Garfield wrote to Wallace in April of 1881 on Executive Mansion letterhead, “Dear General, I have, this morning, finished reading ‘Ben-Hur’ and I must thank you for the pleasure it has given me. The theme was difficult; but you have handled it with great delicacy and power. Several of the scenes such as the Wise Men in the desert—the sea fight—the chariot race—will I am sure take a permanent and high place in literature. With this beautiful and reverent book you have lightened the burden of my daily life and renewed our acquaintance which began at Shiloh. Very Truly yours, J. A. Garfield”
Garfield’s interest in the book resulted in his appointment of Wallace as Minister to the Ottoman Empire which proved to be one of the highlights of Wallace’s life. Garfield’s comments took on special meaning after his death and resulted in Harper and Brothers producing a special edition of Ben-Hur commonly called the Garfield Edition.
Beyond these men Susan included in the Autobiography, thousands of others commented on the book and play. These included Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederacy, who praised the book as a tale of redemption; U.S. Grant who wrote to his friend Wallace that he [Grant] did not read novels, but picked up Ben-Hur and read it word for word in one sitting; William Jennings Bryan, who said the stage version of Ben-Hur was “the greatest play on stage when measured by its religious tone and moral effect.” He noted its popularity introduced the theater to a new audience, “many of them devout churchgoers who’d previously been suspicious of the stage.” Even royalty communicated their praise for the work. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Great Britain had a specially constructed box in the theater pit when the stage production reached London in 1902, which was considered a radical departure for royal viewing. According to published reports, their majesties highly commended the drama and its production and spoke of the very reverent manner in which its religious theme was treated.
Few, if any, creative endeavors in the 19th century received such broad, popular, and impressive endorsements. Many of these comments were used in marketing the book and play which helped to propel it to even greater exposure, sales, and influence. Thanks to his masterwork and endorsements such as these Lew Wallace became a household name and early celebrity.
