Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, Northup

From the Publisher

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

KLIATT

Solomon Northup was born a free man in New York in 1808. In 1841 he was tricked, captured, and sold into slavery in Washington, D.C. Originally published in 1854, his account of 12 years spent as a slave on a series of Southern plantations became one of the most famous of the antebellum slave narratives. Republished in 1970 with an introduction by Philip Foner, the book has again been "replicated" by Dover with all the original documentation and illustrations. Northup's story was taken down by David Wilson in the year following his rescue from a Louisiana plantation. Since Northup was a literate Northerner and understood the values of freedom, his testimony was highly prized by Abolitionists. Not only did his book sell 25,000 copies in the year it was published, it was used to support Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, since it gave a description of plantation life very much like one that Stowe had described. Twelve Years a Slave is highly readable and well paced. It provides a firsthand account of slave auctions, good masters, bad masters, slave beatings, escape attempts, black community life within the plantation system and the legal system that permitted Northup's eventual rescue. Highly recommended. KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1970, Dover, 336p, illus, 22cm, 99-089488, $8.95. Ages 13 to adult. Reviewer: Patricia A. Moore; Academic Resource Ctr., Emmanuel College, Boston, MA (retired), March 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 2)

Booknews

Born a free man in New York in 1808, Solomon Northrup was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., in 1841. He spent the next 12 years as a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation. After regaining his freedom in 1853, he published this gripping autobiographical account of his captivity. As an educated man, he was able to present a detailed and accurate picture of slave life and plantation society, from simultaneous outsider and insider perspectives. This is an unabridged Dover republication of the work first reprinted by Dover Publications, New York, in 1970. The original edition was published by Derby and Miller, Auburn, New York, 1853. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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