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Solomon Northup

Author of Twelve Years a Slave

15+ Works 4,095 Members 114 Reviews

About the Author

Solomon Northup was a free-born African American from Saratoga Springs, New York. He is noted for having been kidnapped in 1841 when enticed with a job offer. When he accompanied his supposed employers to Washington, DC, they drugged him and sold him into slavery. From Washington, DC, he was show more transported to New Orleans where he was sold to a plantation owner from Rapides Parish, Louisiana. After 12 years in bondage, he regained his freedom in January 1853. Solomon Northup's memoir was reprinted several times later in the 19th century. An annotated version was published in 1968; the memoir was adapted and produced as a 2013 film by the same name by Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup. Since 1999, Saratoga Springs, New York, has celebrated an annual Solomon Northup Day on the third Saturday in July. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

(ger) His name is generally written as S. NorthUp. Northrup or Northop are common misspellings, but they are not correct. See also: http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/04/nation/la-na-nn-solomon-northup-new-york-times-correction-20140304

Works by Solomon Northup

Twelve Years a Slave (1853) 3,947 copies

Associated Works

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Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Northup, Solomon
Legal name
Northup, Solomon
Birthdate
1808-07-10
Date of death
1863 (circa)
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
Minerva, Essex County, New York, USA
Places of residence
New York, USA
Occupations
Carpenter
Disambiguation notice
His name is generally written as S. NorthUp. Northrup or Northop are common misspellings, but they are not correct. See also: http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/...

Members

Reviews

"Life is dear to every living thing; the worm that crawls upon the ground will struggle for it."

Solomon Northup was born a free man in the state of New York, married, had three children who along with his wife was creative enough to scrape together an income. When two men invite Solomon to travel with them to Washington with the promise of money, he quickly agrees to join them. Unfortunately, whilst there he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. Once crossing to the Southern States, he knew that nobody would believe he was a free man and those who did, would most likely kill him rather than set him free. So for twelve years he kept his mouth shut and played the role of Platt the slave on different plantations in Louisiana.

Solomon/Platt had different owners, while some treated him with humanity, others were mere brutes and unnecessarily cruel who actually tried to kill him more than once. Solomon first works at a cotton plantation but is later hired out to sugar cane plantations where he is way more productive. He helped to build new houses and other buildings, he stands out for his cleverness and violin skills until he finally met someone whom he believed that he could truly trust and help him reclaim his freedom.

This book was written back in 1853 shortly after his release from slavery but isn't just another testimony written by a slave, in this memoir we see the facts through the eyes of a free man that was forced into slavery. Solomon Northup was obviously an educated man, the prose is generally easy to read, but he can spend five pages detailing the various stages of cotton growing. However, on the slightly down side this story was written as a report and therefore has a certain lack of passion, meaning that there seemed to be a certain disconnect between the cruelty inflicted and the suffering felt. There are also quite a few religious references scattered throughout which along with the previous point can make it feel a little dry at times. However, this is still a powerful read and without doubt a must read for anyone who is interested in reading about slavery and a dark side of America's history. .

"What difference is there in the colour of the soul."
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PilgrimJess | 112 other reviews | Feb 18, 2024 |
I was curious to read this, but I didn't buy it until after the movie. The movie is very close to the book. At this point, I wanted to know how he wrote. Very well written.
 
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tyk314 | 112 other reviews | Jan 22, 2024 |
I was curious to read this, but I didn't buy it until after the movie. The movie is very close to the book. At this point, I wanted to know how he wrote. Very well written.
 
Flagged
tyk314 | 112 other reviews | Jan 22, 2024 |

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Statistics

Works
15
Also by
4
Members
4,095
Popularity
#6,145
Rating
4.2
Reviews
114
ISBNs
394
Languages
13

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