Twelve Years a Slave- Book

One of those books that everyone should have at hand, to read passages from when they feel like grumbling about their lot in life, especially about their work.

Solomon Northup was a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The very descriptive details in this book really bring the whole world of the southern states of the USA (particularly Louisiana, the kinds of agriculture, natural history, the people (slaves, Native Americans and white people)) and the times (written in 1853 about the 12 years preceding) to life so should be of great interest to history fans as well as from a sociological perspective.

Such a sad and hard book to read, and only bearable because I knew the author escaped slavery, as implied by the title. It describes the incredibly hard work and long hours the slaves endured: up before sunrise, in the fields till sundown only to be faced with more chores! Such as cutting wood or feeding and combing the mules. THEN making their meals for the next day! They went to sleep very late and exhausted. During their workdays they were constantly watched over by the overseers, chastised and whipped if they stopped working for a moment. Older age, over-bearing heat, over-work or illness were no excuses to be 'idle'.

Whippings were doled out with abandon and this cast a heavy shadow over the slaves' lives- fear of being so tired that they would wake late, fear if they hadn't picked enough cotton, or if they had picked too much cotton this would be recorded and they were expected to pick the same amounts the next days or they would be punished, fear lest the master took a personal dislike to you or in the case of the women, too much of a liking to you.

Before the book is read it is hard to believe how someone could be kept captive for 12 years without escaping or finding help but it is learnt that having a piece of paper or a writing instrument was punishable so sending communication to a potential rescuer was almost impossible. Escape was difficult as good monetary rewards for the recapture of a slave and the rights to beat or hang were given to white men who found a wandering slave who did not have a pass from his owner. The land of this story was surrounded by swamps and bayous and slaves were not allowed to learn to swim in order to prevent their escape through this kind of terrain.

I loved the book so much that I was keen to watch the 2013 film of the name but I was quite disappointed in it. I know it's an Oscar winner and people love it, but compared to the book, I found the characters (not the lead) a bit one dimensional. Solomon broke his violin in the film but he did not do this in the book. He adored his violin and it gave him spiritual strength as he could play happy tunes to cheer himself or sad tunes to express his feelings. It also earned him some wages. A few more annoyances- actresses weeping heartily but with no tears, an added sexual scene never mentioned in the book.

But sadly, the realities of the book were even harsher than the film. The slaves were more modest and less argumentative but the punishments were much more severe and the hardships more explicitly described.


The book was a best-seller when first published and sold about 30,000 copies. It must have made a big impact on the anti-slavery movement.

It's remarkable that this book was printed last in the 19th century then went out of print until 1968. It's a wonderful thing that it was rediscovered and popularised.

A rare first edition of the book. There are believed to be about 200 copies of this kind.