Bigger Than Ben-Hur : The Book, Its Adaptations, and Their Audiences

Barbara Ryan

ISBN 10: 081563403X / ISBN 13: 9780815634034

Published by Syracuse University Press Jan 2016, 2016

About this Item

Neuware - First published in 1880, Ben-Hur became a best-seller. For over a century, it has become a ubiquitous pop cultural presence, representing a deeply powerful story and monumental experience for some and a defining work of bad taste and false piety for others. Bigger Than 'Ben-Hur" to explores its polarizing effect and expands the contexts within which it can be studied.

Seller Inventory # 9780815634034

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Bigger Than Ben-Hur : The Book, Its Adaptations, and Their Audiences
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press Jan 2016
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081563403X
• ISBN 13: 9780815634034
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 152H x 0D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 0 millimeters depth
• Weight: 401 grams

About this title

Synopsis

<p>First published in 1880, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ became a best-seller. The<br>popular novel spawned an 1899 stage adaptation, reaching audiences of over<br>10 million, and two highly successful film adaptations. For over a century, it has<br>become a ubiquitous pop cultural presence, representing a deeply powerful story<br>and monumental experience for some and a defining work of bad taste and false<br>piety for others. The first and only collection of essays on this pivotal cultural icon,<br>Bigger Than "Ben-Hur" addresses Lew Wallace’s beloved classic to explore its<br>polarizing effect and to expand the contexts within which it can be studied.<br> In the essays gathered here, scholars approach Ben-Hur from multiple directions—<br>religious and secular, literary, theatrical, and cinematic—to understand<br>not just one story in varied formats but also what they term the "Ben-Hur tradition."<br>Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, contributions include the rise<br>of the Protestant novel in the United States; relationships between and among<br>religion, spectacle, and consumerism; the "New Woman" in early Hollywood;<br>and a "wish list" for future adaptations, among others. Together, these essays<br>explore how this remarkably fluid story of faith, love, and revenge has remained<br>relevant to audiences across the globe for over 130 years.</p>

About the Author

<p>Barbara Ryan is associate professor in the University Scholars Programme at the National University<br>of Singapore. She is the author of <i>Love, Wages, Slavery</i> and a coeditor of <i>Reading Acts</i>.</p><p>Milette Shamir is senior lecturer in English and American studies at Tel Aviv University. She<br>is the author of <i>Inexpressible Privacy: The Interior Life of Antebellum American Literature</i> and<br>coeditor of <i>Boys Don't Cry? Rethinking Narratives of Masculinity and Emotion in the U.S.</i></p>