12 Years a Slave

Summary

“Now I had approached within the shadow of the cloud, into the thick darkness whereof I was soon to disappear, thenceforward to be hidden from the eyes of all my kindred, and shut out from the sweet light of liberty, for many a weary year.”—Solomon Northup

Born and raised a freeman in New York, with a house, a loving wife, and two children, Northup was offered a short-term engagement as a violinist in Washington D.C. where he was tricked, drugged, and sold into slavery in the deep south.

Kept in bondage in Louisiana for twelve years, enduring backbreaking labor, unimaginable violence, and inhumane treatment at the hands of cruel masters, miraculous circumstances led to Solomon Northup regaining his freedom.

With its eloquent depiction of life before and after bondage, this story of his extraordinary journey shows just how the resiliency of hope and the strong human spirit can conquer even the most horrible of circumstances.