12 Years a Slave: A True Story of Betrayal Kidnap and Slavery
The astonishing memoir of a free man who was sold into slavery in Louisiana where he was kept for 12 years—a powerful, riveting condemnation of slavery, and a story soon to be introduced to a new audience through a major film
Tricked by two men offering him a job as a musician in New York state in 1841, Solomon Northup was instead drugged and kidnapped. Threatened with death, Northup was forced to assume a new name and fake past. Taken to Louisiana on a disease-ridden plague ship, he was initially sold to a cotton planter. In the 12 years that followed he was sold to many different owners who treated him with varying levels of savagery, including forced labor, scant food, and numerous beatings. Eventually Northup succeeded in contacting Samuel Bass, a white carpenter whom he knew to be sympathetic to the cause of black people. Bass contacted Northup's family and together they gained the necessary paperwork to travel to Louisiana to retrieve him. Northup pressed charges against his captors but in a triumph of irony the case was heard in Washington—meaning that as a black man he could not testify against the accused (in the end they were able to countersue him.) A true-life testament to tremendous courage and tenacity in the face of unfathomable injustice, Northup's account is also of extreme interest due to the meticulous recordings of slave life. Unique in its first-hand nature, the book became a runaway bestseller.
Author | Solomon Northup |
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Publisher | Penguin Books |
Place | London |
Year | 2013 |
ISBN | 9780141393827 |
Binding | Paperback |
Condition | Good |
Comments | Forward lean. |
How we describe the condition of our books
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New: Exactly as it says.
As New: Pretty much new but shows small signs of having been read; inside it will be clean without any inscriptions or stamps; might contain a remainder mark.
Very Good: Might have some creases on the spine; no hard cracks; maybe slight forward lean and short inscription inside; perhaps very minor bumping on the corners of the book; inside clean but the page edges might be slightly yellowed.
Good: A few creases on the spine, perhaps a forward lean, bumping on corners or shelfwear; maybe an inscription inside or some shelfwear or a small tear or two on the dustjacket; inside clean but page edges might be somewhat yellowed.
Fair: In overall good condition, might have a severe forward lean to the spine, an inscription, bumping to corners; one or two folds on the covers and yellowed pages; in exceptional cases these books might contain some library stamps and stickers or have neat sticky tape which was used to fix a short, closed tear.
Poor: We rarely sell poor condition books, unless the books are in demand and difficult to find in a better condition. Poor condition books are still perfect for a good read, all pages will be intact and none threatening to fall out; most probably a reading copy only.