Twelve Years a Slave

This unforgettable memoir was the basis for the Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave. It is a memoir and slave narrative by American Solomon Northup. A hardworking farmer and an exceptional fiddler, Solomon Northup is born a free man of colour. He lives happily with his wife and children in Saratoga County, New York, until the day an employment offer at a circus changes his life. Tricked, drugged and kidnapped, Northup gets sold as a slave. And for the twelve years that follow, he lives in bondage under different masters... This narrative reveals how Northup survived the harsh conditions of slavery, including smallpox, lashings, and an attempted hanging. Solomon Northup was among a select few who were freed from slavery. His account describes the daily life of slaves in Louisiana, their diet and living conditions, the relationship between master and slave, and how slave catchers used to recapture runaways.