Chrissie's Reviews > Twelve Years a Slave

Slavery is an abomination. The United States was from its independence from England a nation that relied heavily on slavery. It was not a land of equality and it did not offer freedom for all.

This book is an autobiography written by Solomon Northup, a free Black kidnapped and taken into slavery for twelve years. He was from Upper-state New York. He played the fiddle. Given a proposition to earn extra money doing just this, he agreed to travel to Washington D.C. It was here he was kidnapped and illegally sold into slavery. This was in 1841. In 1853 through the help of a white Canadian he regained his freedom. Within a few months his story was published. According to Wiki, "The first scholarly edition of Northup's memoir, co-edited in 1968 by Sue Eakin and Joseph Logsdon, carefully retraced and validated the account and concluded it to be accurate." He worked on three plantations in Louisiana.

This is an excellent book to read after Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad; it gives you the personal story of the historical events summarized in Foner's book.

I liked this book because it shows how history played out in ONE person's life. What I admire most is the dignity with which Solomon Northup relates his tale. This is no sobfest. It is without melodrama. This isn't necessary given that the events themselves are so terrible. I admire his restraint. I admire that he details other aspects than his own tragic events. He talks of Christmas celebrations and cotton and sugar cane production, clothing and meals and food and of course the injustices committed. The writing is clear and straightforward, as well as the audiobook narration by Hugh Quarshie. I did sometimes wish I could have questioned the author about facts that seemed a bit unclear.

A three star book IS worth reading. I feel I must repeat this over and over again.