First Published: 5 February 1853
Left: Original Cover as taken from Project Gutenberg
Right: Published: 4 September 2013
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SYNOPSIS
(NOTE: As the Project Gutenberg copy of the book had a different synopsis that potentially spoils the story, I used the synopsis from the September 4, 2013 edition from Penguin Books.)
"I could not believe that I had never heard of this book. It felt as important as Anne Frank's diary."--Steve McQueen, from the foreword
Perhaps the best written of all the slave narratives, 12 Years a Slave is a harrowing memoir about one of the darkest periods in American history. It recounts how Solomon Northup, born a free man in New York, was lured to Washington, D.C., in 1841 with the promise of fast money, then drugged and beaten and sold into slavery. He spent the next twelve years of his life in captivity on a series of Louisiana plantations.
After his rescue, Northup published this exceptionally vivid and detailed account of slave life. It became an immediate bestseller and today is recognized for its unusual insight and eloquence as one of the very few portraits of American slavery produced by someone with the dual perspective of having been both a free man and a slave.
"For sheer drama, few accounts of slavery match Solomon Northup's tale of abduction from freedom and forcible enslavement."--Ira Berlin, from the introduction
Source: Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Solomon Northup was a free-born African American from Saratoga Springs, New York. He is noted for having been kidnapped in 1841 when enticed with a job offer. When he accompanied his supposed employers to Washington, DC, they drugged him and sold him into slavery. From Washington, DC, he was transported to New Orleans where he was sold to a plantation owner from Rapides Parish, Louisiana. After 12 years in bondage, he regained his freedom in January 1853; he was one of very few to do so in such cases. Held in the Red River region of Louisiana by several different owners, he got news to his family, who contacted friends and enlisted the New York governor in his cause. New York state had passed a law in 1840 to recover African-American residents who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery.
Northup sued the slave traders in Washington, DC, but lost in the local court. District of Columbia law prohibited him as a black man from testifying against whites and, without his testimony, the men went free. Returning to his family in New York, Northup became active in abolitionism. He published an account of his experiences in Twelve Years a Slave (1853) in his first year of freedom. Northup gave dozens of lectures throughout the Northeast on his experiences as a slave, in order to support the abolitionist cause.
In the early 1860s, Northup, along with another black man, aided a Methodist minister in Vermont in helping fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. The circumstances of Northup's death are uncertain.
Solomon Northup's memoir was reprinted several times later in the 19th century. An annotated version was published in 1968, edited by Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon. The memoir was adapted and produced as a film in 2013 by Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup. Previously, a TV movie had been made of Northup's story, Solomon Northup's Odyssey (1984), directed by Gordon Parks. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove wrote her poem "The Abduction" about Solomon Northup (published in her first collection, "The Yellow House on the Corner", 1980.)
Since 1999, Saratoga Springs, New York, has celebrated an annual Solomon Northup Day.
Northup sued the slave traders in Washington, DC, but lost in the local court. District of Columbia law prohibited him as a black man from testifying against whites and, without his testimony, the men went free. Returning to his family in New York, Northup became active in abolitionism. He published an account of his experiences in Twelve Years a Slave (1853) in his first year of freedom. Northup gave dozens of lectures throughout the Northeast on his experiences as a slave, in order to support the abolitionist cause.
In the early 1860s, Northup, along with another black man, aided a Methodist minister in Vermont in helping fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. The circumstances of Northup's death are uncertain.
Solomon Northup's memoir was reprinted several times later in the 19th century. An annotated version was published in 1968, edited by Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon. The memoir was adapted and produced as a film in 2013 by Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup. Previously, a TV movie had been made of Northup's story, Solomon Northup's Odyssey (1984), directed by Gordon Parks. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove wrote her poem "The Abduction" about Solomon Northup (published in her first collection, "The Yellow House on the Corner", 1980.)
Since 1999, Saratoga Springs, New York, has celebrated an annual Solomon Northup Day.
RATING
5 out of 5
REVIEW
(NOTE: I only got access to Project Gutenberg's copy of Twelve Years a Slave, which originally had a much longer name. During the time of its publication the book was called "Twelve Years a Slave / Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen on Plantation near the Red River in Louisiana". As of the moment I am writing this review I am not aware of any editorial changes made in later editions of this book.)
It's been a while since I felt I was on a roller coaster ride because of a book I read. Whenever I read a real life account of one who has endured unimaginable suffering I often get chills running through my spine as I can easily visualize the events that transpire within stories like this. Solomon Northup, who I will refer to as Platt (as he was known by his slave owners), successfully dragged me along with him as he recalled his account of having been sold to slavery despite having lived in freedom as a black man in the United States.
Platt was born during a point in the history of the US where slavery remained practiced in various states. Though the states to the north began acknowledging the rights of colored men, the states to the south continued to enslave them for the benefit of citizens who can afford to own property. It encouraged greatly the social more of "white supremacy", which haunted the lives of colored people back then. The accounts recorded in this book are merely a small portion of the issue of slavery in the early days of America's History.
Even as the rights of colored men were acknowledged in certain states, it never was a complete guarantee for being sold to slavery. There will always be cunning men who can brilliantly deceive colored men into being sold to slavery through promises of great job offers, just as Platt had experienced. Despite having done nothing wrong to have gone through his experience, he was eventually sold to many slave owners to work for their various ventures across different states. He contemplates on his situation in the following statement, which I found remarkable:
"There must have been some misapprehension--some unfortunate mistake. It could not be that a free citizen of New-York, who had wronged no man, nor violated any law, should be dealt with thus inhumanly. The more I contemplated my situation, however, the more I became confirmed in my suspicions. It was a desolate thought, indeed. I felt there was no trust or mercy in unfeeling man; and commending myself to the God of the oppressed, bowed my head upon my fettered hands, and wept most bitterly."
It became clear to Platt that he was dragged to an inhumane situation. As his liberties were taken away due to deceptive-minded people he was as good as somebody else's slave. I came to understand how difficult it was for a simple man like him to go through such horrors.
He then spends a lot of his focus on his experience as a slave under Edwin Epps, the owner of a cotton plantation in Louisiana. Platt describes the next ten years of his slavery under Epps' watch as natural and human as possible, highlighting the struggles he had to go through. I can't stress out how perfectly eloquent Northup recalled the excruciating pain he had to go through as Epps' slave, perfectly captured as summarized in the following paragraph:
"Yet to speak truthfully of Edwin Epps would be to say--he is a man in whose heart the quality of kindness or of justice is not found. A rough, rude energy, united with a uncultivated mind and an avaricious spirit, are his prominent characteristics. He is known as a "nigger breaker,"distinguished for his faculty of subduing the spirit of the slave, and priding himself upon his reputation in this respect, as a jockey boasts of his skill in managing a refractory horse. He looked upon a colored man, not as a human being, responsible to his Creator for the small talent entrusted to him, but as a "chattel personal," as mere live property, no better, except in value, than his mule or dog."
Prior to reading this book I never gave too much thought about the topic of slavery. Even if I have already read or watched material related to slavery I only learned about it from a macro level. This book gave me an opportunity to actually feel and witness how slavery impacted individuals from a micro level, focusing on the account of one specific person and his various interactions with fellow slaves like him. Twelve Years a Slave is a true eye opener for me, for it gave me a perspective on the impact that slavery has done to individuals like Platt.
From the beginning to end, the book successfully dragged me to an adventure like no other. It opened me to perspectives I once have taken for granted. I would definitely recommend this book as a "must-read" for anyone looking to not only get into reading books but also learn about the horrendous impacts of slavery. This book serves as a living testament to a once dark period in known history.
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