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New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Golden Globe Winner for
Best Drama In this enhanced/authenticated edition by Dr. Sue Eakin
of the riveting true slave narrative that reads like a novel, you
are transported to 1840's New York, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana
to experience the kidnapping and twelve years of bondage of Solomon
Northup, a free man of color. TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE, published in
1853, was an immediate bombshell in the national debate over
slavery leading up to the Civil War. It validated Harriett Beecher
Stowe's fictional account of Southern slavery in Uncle Tom's Cabin,
which significantly changed public opinion in favor of abolition.
Now a major motion picture by Director Steve McQueen (produced by
Brad Pitt), you can sync this e-book with our Movie Tie-in
Audiobook performed by Oscar and Emmy winner Louis Gossett, Jr.
Northup's harrowing true story was authenticated from decades of
research by award-winning historian and journalist Dr. Sue Eakin,
who rediscovered the narrative in 1931 as an adolescent and made it
her life's work. Dr. Eakin's enhanced e-book includes the original
narrative plus over 100 pages of fascinating new background
information based on her research and photos. A portion of proceeds
from this book supports organizations fighting modern-day slavery
in the form of human trafficking. To enhance your book and movie
experience see our website listed in the e-book's sample pages,
where you'll find instructions for downloading your free PDF
Collector's Extra for your library. SYNOPSIS: Hard working Solomon
Northup, an educated free man of color in 1841, enjoys family life
with his wife and three children in Saratoga, New York. He delights
his community with his fiddle playing and has positive expectations
of all he meets. When he is deceived by "circus promoters" to
accompany them to a musical gig in the nation's capital, his joyful
life takes an unimaginable turn. He awakens in shackles to find he
has been drugged, kidnapped and bound for the slave block in D.C.
After Solomon is shipped a thousand miles to New Orleans, he is
assigned his slave name and quickly learns that the mere utterance
of his true origin or rights as a freeman are certain to bring
severe punishment or death. While he endures the brutal life of a
slave in Louisiana's isolated Bayou Boeuf plantation country, he
must learn how to play the system and plot his escape home. For 12
years, his fine mind captures the reality of slavery in stunning
detail, as we learn about the characters that populate plantation
society and the intrigues of the bayou - from the collapse of a
slave rebellion resulting in mass hangings due to traitorous slave
Lew Cheney, to the tragic abuse of his friend Patsey because of
Mrs. Epps' jealously of her husband's sexual exploitation of his
pretty young slave. When Solomon finally finds a sympathizing
friend who risks his life to secret a letter to the North, a
courageous rescue attempt ensues that could either compound
Solomon's suffering, or get him back to the arms of his family.
REVIEWS - Below are excerpts from the original 1853 reviews
following publication of the narrative: ..".the extraordinary
narrative of Solomon Northup is the most remarkable book that was
ever issued from the American press." - Detroit Tribune "It's truth
is far greater than fiction." - Frederick Douglass, writer, orator,
former slave and abolitionist CONTEMPORARY COMMENTARY: "I can never
read his account of his days in slavery, of his independence of
spirit, of his determination to be free... without believing that
it would make a difference in today's world if our contemporaries
knew of such a man as Solomon Northup" - Dr. John Hope Franklin,
past president of the American Historical Association, best-selling
author, recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (nation's
highest civilian honor). Written to Dr. Sue Eakin.
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