Books by Solomon Northup

DISCOVER A TALE OF UNIMAGINABLE ADVERSITYTwelve 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.

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.

"Doce años de esclavitud" es un libro de memorias de un ciudadano estadounidense llamado Solomon Northup, contada y editada por el abogado y político contemporáneo de su época, David Wilson. Publicada en 1852, se trata de una novela de temática esclavista contada por un hombre afroamericano libre que fue secuestrado y convertido en esclavo en el sur de los Estados Unidos."¿Acaso es correcto, o siquiera razonable, que un hombre de materia igual a la de otro, tan compuesto de lo mismo y en misma variedad, cuya locura e impudicia comparte con los esclavos a los que gobierna, se erija en déspota absoluto y diga quién es libre y quién no en su tierra?"Solomon Northup nació en Saratoga, Nueva York, a principios del siglo XIX como hombre libre. Northup se estableció en su ciudad natal como carpintero y violinista, y entrado en la edad adulta, dos promotores de circo le ofrecieron un trabajo bien remunerado como músico para su circo.Northup aceptó el trabajo sin pensárselo dos veces y emprendió su viaje con el circo hacia Nueva York y Washington. Poco después del inicio de su viaje, Northup fue secuestrado, agredido, drogado y encarcelado. Seguidamente, fue transportado hasta Nueva Orleans, habiéndose convertido en esclavo.Solomon Northup vivió los siguientes 12 años de su vida como esclavo en el sur de los Estados Unidos, siendo vendido y forzado a trabajar en plantaciones de algodón de azúcar en Luisiana. Northup intentó ponerse en contacto con su familia al inicio de su secuestro, pero nunca llegó a conseguirlo hasta que le explicó su historia a Samuel Bass, un carpintero y abolicionista blanco que estaba trabajando en la misma plantación que él. Arriesgando su propia vida, Bass se puso en contacto con la familia de Northup en Saratoga y finalmente consiguieron liberarlo."Doce años de esclavitud" tiene un gran valor histórico y académico, ya que describe fiel y extensamente cómo funcionaban los mercados de esclavos, así como las plantaciones en Luisiana. Además, representa un testimonio valioso sobre las dificultades y maltratos que la población negra de la época tuvo que sufrir, siendo o no esclavos."Doce años de esclavitud" ha sido adaptada a la gran pantalla en dos ocasiones, la primera en 1984, y la segunda, en 2013. La última versión cinematográfica, dirigida por Steve McQueen y con Chiwetel Ejofor como protagonista, fue la ganadora de tres Premios Óscars ese mismo año por mejor película, mejor actriz de reparto para Lupita Nyong’o y mejor guion adaptado. También ganó, entre otros, un Globo de Oro a la mejor película dramática y un premio BAFTA.Solomon Northup (1808— después de 1863)1​2​ fue un abolicionista afroamericano, que nació libre y adquirió renombre por ser secuestrado en 1841, cuando acudía a una entrevista de trabajo. Su åeriodo de cautiverio duró doce años, hasta que se ganó su libertad en 1853. En 1853 también publico su libro de memoria '12 años de esclavitud'.

This is the true story of Solomon Northup, who was born and raised as a freeman in New York. He explains his kidnapping in Washington, D.C., and subsequent sale into slavery. After having been kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana by various masters, Northup was able to write to friends and family in New York, who were in turn able to secure his release. Northups account provides extensive details on the slave markets in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans and describes at length cotton and sugar cultivation on major plantations in Louisiana. His extraordinary journey proves the resiliency of hope and the human spirit despite the most grueling and formidable of circumstances.

This story of the abduction of a free Negro adult from the North and his enslavement in the South--provides a sensational element which cannot be matched in any of the dozens of narratives written by former slaves. 'Think of it: For thirty years a man, wit all man's hopes, fears and aspirations--with a wife and children to call him by the endearing names of husband and father--with a home, humble it may be, but still a home...then for twelve years a thing, a chattel personal, classed with mules and horses....Oh! it is horrible. It chills the blood to think that such are.'

El mejor testimonio sobre la época más sombría de la historia estadounidense son las desgarradoras memorias de Solomon Northup, un afroamericano nacido como hombre libre en Nueva York. Las escribió después de haber pasado doce años esclavizado en varias plantaciones de Luisiana. Corría el año 1841 cuando fue engañado, secuestrado y vendido. Desapareció sin dejar rastro. Su relato es sobrecogedor y su punto de vista, inusual, pues Northup conoció de primera mano qué significaba ser un hombre libre y ser víctima de la esclavitud. Su valioso libro ha subsistido por ser una crónica sobre el mal y el lado oscuro del ser humano, pero nos lega asimismo un bello tratado acerca de la amistad y de la superación.

Three accounts of the lives of famous slavesThis 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.

Three accounts of the lives of famous slavesThis 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.