Twelve Years a Slave: The Black History Classic
Solomon Northrup, with an Introduction by David Fiske and Edited by Tom Butler-Bowdon
Capstone/A Wiley Brand (October 2021)
After his enslavement ended, here’s the rest of his story.
A few months ago, I re-read and then reviewed Frederick Douglass’s classic Narrative (first published in 1845). Since then, I have read two other volumes in “The Black History Classic” series: this one and The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano. Both have received far less attention than Douglass’ classic, although a film (2013) based on Northrup’s memoir has been both a critical and commercial success, winning six Oscars, including one for Chiwetel Eliofor for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Well-deserved.
Here’s a brief timeline of Solomon Northrup’s story:
o 1807 or 1808: Solomon Northrup born a free man.
o 1829: He married Anne Hampton
o 1841: Northrup was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery.
o 1841-1853: Purchased by a planter in New Orleans
o January 23, 1853: Northrup released from slavery and reunited with wife and three children
o Also in 1853, Northrup published Twelve Years a Slave
o Northrup is believed to have died in 1863 or 1864
o Anne Northrup died in 1876
Over the years, I have reviewed several thousand books for Amazon and the purpose of each review is the same: to help those who read it to decide (a) whether or not it is worth checking out and (b) if read, what may be of special interest and value to them. These are brief excerpts from David Fiske’s superb Introduction:
o “Even as a slave. Northrup gained the respect of others for his abilities and was seen as a reliable person. Somewhat surprisingly, his plantation master Edwin Epps, when talking to Union soldiers during g the Civil War, admitted that Northrup’s book was largely true, and described Northrup as ‘an unusually smart nigger’…Litlle in his book has been contradicted by other sources, except for a misspelled name here and there., and a couple of misstated dates.”
o “In the year that it was published, 1853, a local newspaper observed that ‘It’s tone is much milder than we expected to see exhibited…but, while he seems to fully realize the magnitude of his sufferings, he does not condemn all.'”
o With regard to the matter of Northrump’s motivation for putting his story to paper: “He states this very clearly at the book’s beginning: ‘I can speak of Slavery only so far as it came under my own observation — only so far as I have known and experienced it in my own person. My object is to give a candid and truthful statement of facts; to repeat the story of my life without exaggeration.'”
o “As a first-hand account that detailed the process of kidnapping from the inside, Twelve Years as a Slave most stands alone in documenting the crime.”
o For kidnap victims, it was next to impossible for them to regain their liberty under their own steam. Victims were usually taken from their familiar surroundings quickly, making it difficult for them to escape their captors and return home. They were often given different names, minimiZing the chances that friends or relatives might locate them.”
o “It Would be wonderful if slavery was an entirely historical phenomenon. This is not the case. Definitions of modern slavery vary but encompass debt bondage, involuntary servitude, and sexual exploitation. The International Labour Organization puts the number of modern slaves at 40 million people.”
These are Solomon Northrup’s thoughts when concluding his epic narrative: “Chastened and subdued in spirit by the sufferings I have borne, and thankful to that good Being through whose mercy I have been restored to happiness and liberty, I hope henceforth to lead an upright though lowly life, and rest at last in the church yard where my father sleeps.”
Given the nature and extent of the brutalities Solomon Northrup had endured during twelve years of enslavement before rejoining his wife and family, it is extraordinary that his spirit was severely tested but somehow remained unbroken. I agree with Fiske: “Let us keep in mind today’s Solomon Northrups, and the fact that slavery brutalizes the oppressors as it ruins the lives and chances of the enslaved.”
Hearty congratulations to him and Tom Butler-Bowdon as well as their Capstone colleagues for creating the definitive edition of this Black History Classic. Bravo!