(Illustrated: Contains original and additional images and photographs, including actual "manifest of slaves" from ship carrying author in chains to Louisiana, not found in original book. Also features active and detailed Contents.)
Lured to the nation's capital by the prospect of work, Solomon Northup, a free man born in New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery. He spends the next twelve years in bondage, primarily on a plantation in Louisiana, along the Red River. Solomon is a witness to the inhumanity of the institution of slavery, the abuses suffered at the hands of cruel masters, and the working conditions and daily lives of his fellow slaves.
Throughout his enslavement, Solomon never reveals his true identity as a free man, kept secret for fear of brutal physical consequences and the possibility of being traded to a plantation farther away from society. Eventually enlisting the aid of a white man from Canada employed on the plantation, Solomon strives to realize his dream of returning to Saratoga, New York, to his wife Anne and now-grown children.
First published in 1853, 'Twelve Years a Slave' is a stark description of that "peculiar institution" that drove the southern economy and bitterly divided Americans. Solomon Northup's narrative is perhaps the most important, and compelling, first-hand account of slavery that exists.
This fascinating book (soon to be a major feature film) is now presented in a high-quality digital edition by Quid Pro Books. It features additional images, linked notes, active and detailed Table of Contents, properly aligned verses, and other signposts of professional eBook formatting rarely found in typical republications of classic works.
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