12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave

by Solomon Northup
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date: 25/10/2013

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A powerful and riveting condemnation of American slavery, 12 Years a Slave is the harrowing true story of Solomon Northup who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, enduring unimaginable degradation and abuse until his rescue twelve years later. Steve McQueen's powerful film adaptation starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch won Best Picture at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes in 2014.Tricked by two men offering him a job as a musician in New York State in 1841, Solomon Northup was drugged and kidnapped. His life is jeopardy, he was forced to assume a new name and fake past. Taken to Louisiana on a disease-ridden plague ship, he was initially sold to a cotton planter. In the twelve years that follow he is sold to many different owners who treat him with varying levels of savagery; forced labour, scant food and numerous beatings are his regular fare. Against all odds, Northup eventually succeeds in contacting a sympathetic party and manages to get word to his family. The ensuing rescue and legal cases are no less shocking and intriguing than the rest of the tale. A true-life testament to tremendous courage and tenacity in the face of unfathomable injustice, Northup's account also provides a rare insight into a murky past being meticulous first-hand recordings of slave life. A new film premiering in 2013, featuring Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch, is sure to introduce this amazing story to a new audience.

ISBN:
9781780942155
9781780942155
Category:
Memoirs
Format:
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date:
25-10-2013
Language:
English
Publisher:
Hesperus Press Ltd
Solomon Northup

Solomon Northup was born a free man in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1808. He lived as such until 1841 when, attracted by a job offer, he travelled to Washington, DC, where he was drugged and sold into slavery by his supposed employers.

Northup was enslaved for twelve years before he regained his freedom and returned to New York. There, he became an advocate for abolitionism and in the 1860s began helping fugitive slaves via the Underground Railroad.

Northup is believed to have died between 1863 and 1875, but both the date and circumstances of his death are unknown.

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