12 Years a Slave: Solomon Northup’s Memoir on Period of Enslavement, Abuse, Racial Segregation and Flawed Nature of Slavery.

Solomon Northup was born on 10th July 1808, in Minerva, New York, USA; to a freed slave man Mintus. He was a laborer and a par excellence Violinist. He married and settled in upstate New York. The book is based on his memoirs after he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. • Solomon Northup’s story starts in 1841 when he was tricked into coming to Washington by two men who lured him in by offering him work in the circus as a fiddle player. • Northup was tricked and drugged by the two men Northup and later sold him as a slave without his will in the Red River region of Louisiana. • What followed was a period of enslavement and abuse that lasted 12 years, during which time he was repeatedly assaulted and was stripped of rudimentary human rights. • The vivid details described by him are nothing less than horrifying. • His memoir strips and exposes the malignant and flawed nature of Slave Keeping that was prevalent in the southern states of America at that time. • After returning he documented his experience with the help of editor David Wilson, thereby, giving birth to 12 Years a Slave. • 12 Years a Slave is the story of an individual whose freedom was stripped away from him. • What happened to Solomon Northup was unprovoked and based on Systematic Racial Bigotry prevalent in Southern America at the time, and • Securing Solomon Northup's freedom cost him 12 Years of his life as a slave. • 12 years a slave is based on the real accounts of Solomon Northup that was published just before the Civil War and became a best seller for it gave factual support to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was an anti-slavery novel in the 19th century. The book is a paperback book with well-arranged illustrations and optimized for a relaxed and enjoyable reading experience. Happy Reading!