Solomon Northup was born free as the son of an emancipated slave, who lived and worked in New York. In 1841, two con men offered him lucrative work playing fiddle in a circus, so he travelled with them to Washington, D.C., where he was drugged, kidnapped, and sold as a slave into the Red River region of Louisiana. For the next twelve years he survived as the human property of several different slave masters, where most of his suffering was at the hands of plantation owner Edwin Epps.

Twelve Years a Slave is Northup's harrowing memoir and is recognized as the most reliable, accurate eyewitness account of the daily lives of slaves. Not only as a significant historical reference, but also as an authentic and unforgettable account of a man starved of his freedom, it is an important part of the slave narrative genre.

The ongoing popularity of the Oscar-winning film has brought new audiences to Northup's classic, and this collectable Capstone Classics edition features an insightful introduction from series editor Tom Butler Bowdon.