Author

Lewis Wallace, who was later called Lew, was born 10^th April 1827 in Brookville, Indiana in the USA. His father was vice governor of this state, his mother a well known feminist. He served as lieutenant of an infantry regiment in the Mexican-American war (1846-1848). In 1849 he qualified as a lawyer, in 1856 he became Senator for Indiana. During the American Civil War (1861-1865) Wallace served as an officer for the Union army and was promoted to major general. In November 1865 he retired from the army. From 1878 to 1881 Wallace was governor of New Mexico, and later became the US ambassador to Turkey until 1885. This was also the period when the novel had its great success, after being published in 1880. Lew Wallace died on 15^th of February 1905 in the age of 77.