First published in 1853, 12 Years a Slave is the riveting true story of a free black American who was sold into slavery, remaining there for a dozen years until he finally escaped. This powerfully written memoir details the horrors of slave markets, the inhumanity practiced on southern plantations, and the nobility of a man who persevered in some of the worst of conditions, a man who never ceased to hope that he would find freedom and see his beloved family again. This edition has been slightly edited--for spelling and punctuation only--for easier reading by a modern audience. It also includes two helpful appendixes not found in the original book. Now a major motion picture

Solomon Northup's riveting memoir written in 1853 and now an award winning major motion picture. Mr. Northup recounts his powerful life story of being born a free man in New York, kidnapped and forced into slavery for twelve years and then freed and reunited with his wife and children. 12 YEARS A SLAVE: NARRATIVE OF SOLOMON NORTHUP, A CITIZEN OF NEW-YORK, KIDNAPPED IN WASHINGTON CITY IN 1841 AND RESCUED IN 1853, FROM A COTTON PLANTATION NEAR THE RED RIVER IN LOUISIANA. "A moving, vital testament to one of slavery's many thousands gone who retained his humanity in the depths of degradation. It is also a chilling insight into the peculiar institution." -Saturday Review

The 1853 memoir and slave narrative by Solomon Northup as told to and written by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York, relates his tale, of being tricked to go to Washington, D.C., where he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. He was in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana before smuggling information to friends and family in New York, who in turn secured his release with the aid of the state. Northup's account provides extensive details on the slave markets in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, and describes the cotton and sugar cultivation and slave treatment on major plantations in Louisiana. FLAME TREE451: From mystery to crime, supernatural to horror and myth, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and robots, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales, ancient and modern gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic. The Foundations titles also explore the roots of modern fiction and brings together neglected works which deserve a wider readership as part of a series of classic, essential books.

The shocking first-hand account of one man’s remarkable fight for freedom; now an award-winning motion picture.

‘Why had I not died in my young years – before God had given me children to love and live for? What unhappiness and suffering and sorrow it would have prevented. I sighed for liberty; but the bondsman's chain was round me, and could not be shaken off.’

1841: Solomon Northup is a successful violinist when he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Taken from his family in New York State – with no hope of ever seeing them again – and forced to work on the cotton plantations in the Deep South, he spends the next twelve years in captivity until his eventual escape in 1853.

First published in 1853, this extraordinary true story proved to be a powerful voice in the debate over slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War. It is a true-life testament of one man’s courage and conviction in the face of unfathomable injustice and brutality: its influence on the course of American history cannot be overstated.

Collected here in this omnibus edition are three influential autobiographies of prominent men whose rose up from slavery to greatness. Essential reading for anyone interested in African American Heritage. Included are Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass. Up from Slavery is one of the most influential biographies ever written. On one level it is the life story of Booker T. Washington and his rise from slavery to accomplished educator and activist. On another level it the story of how an entire race strove to better itself. Washington was constantly, and often bitterly, criticized by his contemporaries for being too conciliatory to whites and not concerned enough about civil rights. It would not be until after his death that the world would find out that he had indeed worked a great deal for civil rights anonymously behind the scenes. Twelve Years a Slave is the harrowing true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man living in New York. He was kidnaped by unscrupulous slave hunters and sold into slavery where he, endured unimaginable degradation and abuse until his rescue twelve years later. A powerful and riveting condemnation of American slavery. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is one of the most influential autobiographies ever written. This classic did as much as or more than any other book to motivate the abolitionist to continue to fight for freedom in American. Frederick Douglass was born a slave, he escaped a brutal system and through sheer force of will educated himself and became an abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman, and reformer. This is one of the most unlikely and powerful success stories ever written.

Solomon Northup was born a free man in New York State. At the age of 33 he was kidnapped in Washington D.C. and placed in an underground slave pen. Northup was transported by ship to New Orleans where he was sold into slavery. He spent the next 12 years working as a carpenter, driver, and cotton picker. 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. Northup's first person account published in 1853, was a dramatic story in the national debate over slavery that took place in the nine years leading up to the start of the American Civil War.

Twelve Years a Slave (Originally published in 1853 with the sub-title: "Narrative of Solomon Northup, a citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana") is the written work of Solomon Northup; a man who was born free, but was bound into slavery later in life. Northup's account describes the daily life of slaves in Bayou Beof, their diet, the relationship between the master and slave, the means that slave catchers used to recapture them and the ugly realities that slaves suffered. Northup's slave narrative is comparable to that of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs or William Wells Brown, and there are many similarities. Scholars reference this work today; one example is Jesse Holland, who referred to him in an interview given on January 20, 2009 on Democracy.now. He did so because Northup's extremely detailed description of Washington in 1841 helps the neuromancers understand the location of some slave markets, and is an important part of understanding that African slaves built many of the monuments in Washington, including the Capitol and part of the original Executive Mansion. The book, which was originally published in 1853, tells the story of how two men approached him under the guise of circus promoters who were interested in his violin skills. They offered him a generous but fair amount of money to work for their circus, and then offered to put him up in a hotel in Washington D.C. Upon arriving there he was drugged, bound, and moved to a slave pen in the city owned by a man named James Burch, which was located in the Yellow House, which was one of several sites where African Americans were sold on the National Mall in DC. Another was Robey's Tavern; these slave markets were located between what are now the Department of Education and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, within view of the Capitol, according to researcher Jesse Holland, and Northup's own account 1]. Burch would coerce Northup into making up a new past for himself, one in which he had been born as a slave in Georgia. Burch told Northup that if he were ever to reveal his true past to another person he would be killed. When Northup continually asserts that he is a freeman of New York, Burch violently whips him until the paddle breaks and Rathburn insists on Burch to stop. Northup mentions different kind of owners that Northup had throughout his 12 years as a slave in Louisiana, and how he suffered severely under them: being forced to eat the meager slave diet, live on the dirt floor of a slave cabin, endure numerous beatings, being attacked with an axe, whippings and unimaginable emotional pain from being in such a state. One temporary master he was leased to was named Tibbeats; the man tried to kill him with an axe, but Northup ended up whipping him instead. Finally the book discusses how Northup eventually ended up winning back his freedom. A white carpenter from Canada named Samuel Bass arrived to do some work for Northup's current owner, and after conversing with him, Northup realized that Bass was quite different from the other white men he had met in the south; he said he stood out because he was openly laughed at for opposing the sub-human arguments slavery was based on. It was to Bass that Northup finally confided his story, and ultimately Bass would deliver the letters back to Northup's wife that would start the legal process of earning him his freedom back. This was no small matter, for if they had been caught, it could easily have resulted in their death, as Northup says.

In 1841, free-born African American Solomon Northup was offered a job in his hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York. He followed his employers to the job site at Washington, D.C., where he was beaten, drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery, eventually ending up on a plantation in Louisiana owned by Edwin Epps. While there, in 1852, Northup befriended Canadian carpenter Samuel Bass, who was at the time doing work for Epps. Secretly, Bass was able to contact Northup's family, who informed New York governor Washington Hunt of his kidnapping. The state was able to use a law passed in 1840 that allowed the recovery of free black men who were sold into slavery to rescue Northup. Solomon was finally made free again on January 4, 1853. One of few slaves of his era ever to regain freedom, he devoted his time and energy to lecturing and educating others about abolitionism. His memoir of the experience, Twelve Years a Slave, a best-seller in its time, was published in 1853, during his first year back as a free man. Cosimo Classics is now presenting a paperback and hard cover jacketed republication of the original edition. SOLOMON NORTHUP (1808-c. 1875) was a free African American from New York who was deceived, drugged, and sold into slavery in Washington, D.C. in 1841. He was transported to New Orleans and sold to a plantation owner in Louisiana. For several years, he was passed around between slave owners before winding up with plantation owner Edwin Epps. There he met Canadian carpenter Samuel Bass, who helped him regain his freedom in 1853. Solomon spent the rest of his life as an abolitionist. He also assisted with the Underground Railroad in the early 1860s.

Solomon Northup was born a free man in New York State. At the age of 33 he was kidnapped in Washington D.C. and placed in an underground slave pen. Northup was transported by ship to New Orleans where he was sold into slavery. He spent the next 12 years working as a carpenter, driver, and cotton picker. 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. Northup's first person account published in 1853, was a dramatic story in the national debate over slavery that took place in the nine years leading up to the start of the American Civil War.

Quality hardcover edition of this compelling and influential memoir, an inside account of life as a slave in rural Louisiana, written by a Northern free man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., and sold into brutal slavery. Features additional interesting and rare images relating to Solomon Northup, such as the actual "manifest of slaves" from the ship that brought him in chains to New Orleans. Proper formatting, unlike any new hardcover edition available today, features legible font, complete text, and modern presentation. Note that other new hardbacks are about half the pages as they make font tiny and use non-standard paragraph structure; they are poor scans, while this edition is painstakingly proofread against the original and presented with pride. This edition is the only one that is practical and authentic for new readers, classrooms, library collections, and gifting. Also seen as a 2013 feature motion picture filmed in New Orleans, rural Louisiana and environs, this historic, gripping, and well-written account is presented by Quid Pro Books using all the original illustrations from the 1853 edition (plus the added images unlike any other version). A book of this importance and interest deserves a complete, library-ready, and professional presentation. Please compare the typeface and proofreading of other print editions before ordering.

Three accounts of the lives of famous slaves
This unique Leonaur book brings together three remarkable accounts of slavery and escapes to freedom by African women and men in the United States and West Indies during the 19th century. The first account, written by William and Ellen Craft, recounts the incredible and epic escape by a husband and wife who, recognising that Mrs. Craft was so pale skinned that she could pass for a person of European origin, devised the innovative plan of posing as a young male planter master and his slave. The second story, that of Bermudan born Mary Prince, is notable because hers was the first personal account written by a female negro slave ever to be published in Britain. The third and final account by Solomon Northup, has now become famous again because his experiences have been turned into a highly regarded motion picture. Northup was born a free man, happily married with children and working and owning property in Saratoga Springs, New York. During a visit to Washington he was drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery on a Southern plantation which he endured, despite repeated escape attempts, for twelve years before regaining the liberty that had been taken from him.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Here is the harrowing true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man living in New York. He was kidnaped by unscrupulous slave hunters and sold into slavery where he, endured unimaginable degradation and abuse until his rescue twelve years later. A powerful and riveting condemnation of American slavery.

DISCOVER A TALE OF UNIMAGINABLE ADVERSITY Twelve Years a Slave tells the story of Solomon Northup, a free-born man of colour who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South in 1841. His true tale of captivity, torture and abuse brings to life the unimaginable evils of slavery in a time when it was yet to be outlawed. Equal parts slave, travel, and spiritual narrative, Twelve Years A Slave reveals Northup to be a person of astonishing strength and wisdom. An insightful introduction by David Fiske reveals the world into which Northup was born, the kidnapping phenomenon to which he fell victim, and the legacy of slavery today.

This unforgettable memoir was the basis for the Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave. This is the true story of Solomon Northup, who was born and raised as a freeman in New York. He lived the American dream, with a house and a loving family - a wife and two kids. Then one day he was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the deep south. These are the true accounts of his twelve hard years as a slave - many believe this memoir is even more graphic and disturbing than the film. His extraordinary journey proves the resiliency of hope and the human spirit despite the most grueling and formidable of circumstances.