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Twelve Years a Slave  By  cover art

Twelve Years a Slave

By: Solomon Northup
Narrated by: Louis Gossett Jr.
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Publisher's summary

Official Movie Tie-in Audiobook for the Academy Award's Best Picture and Golden Globe's Best Drama winner.

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.

In this riveting landmark autobiography which reads like a novel, Academy Award and Emmy winner Louis Gossett, Jr., masterfully transports us to 1840s New York, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana to experience the kidnapping and twelve years of bondage of Solomon Northup, a free man of color. Twelve Years a Slave, published in 1853, was an immediate bombshell in the national debate over slavery leading up to the Civil War. It validated Harriett Beecher Stowe’s fictional account of Southern slavery in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which had become the best-selling American book in history a few years earlier and significantly changed public opinion in favor of abolition. Experience our official movie tie-in audiobook for the award-winning motion picture, directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'o. This audio edition with an accompanying custom map is based on the research of Dr. Sue Eakin, the nationally recognized authority on Solomon Northup who spent a lifetime authenticating his story.

Hard working Solomon Northup, an educated free man of color in 1841, enjoys family life with his wife and three children in Saratoga, New York. He delights his community with his fiddle playing and antic spirit, and has positive expectations of all he meets. When he is deceived by “circus promoters” to accompany them to a musical gig in the nation’s capital, his joyful life takes an unimaginable turn. He awakens in shackles to find he has been drugged, kidnapped and bound for the slave block in D.C.

After Solomon is shipped 1,000 miles to New Orleans, he is assigned his slave name and quickly learns that the mere utterance of his true origin or rights as a freeman are certain to bring severe punishment or death. While he endures the brutal life of a slave in Louisiana’s isolated Bayou Boeuf plantation country, he must learn how to play the system and plot his escape home.

For 12 years, his fine mind captures the reality of slavery in stunning detail, as we learn about the characters that populate plantation society and the intrigues of the bayou – from the collapse of a slave rebellion resulting in mass hangings due to traitorous slave Lew Cheney, to the tragic abuse of his friend Patsey because of Mrs. Epps’ jealousy of her husband’s sexual exploitation of his pretty young slave.

When Solomon finally finds a sympathizing friend who risks his life to secret a letter to the North, a courageous rescue attempt ensues that could either compound Solomon’s suffering, or get him back to the arms of his family.

AUTHENTICATION: Northup’s harrowing first-hand account was authenticated from decades of research by Dr. Sue Eakin, who rediscovered the original narrative as a 12-year old in 1931 and made it her life’s work.

For additional audio clips, background info and images, see our website at www.12YearsASlaveBook.com.

©2013 Eakin Films & Publishing (P)2013 Eakin Films & Publishing

Critic reviews

“...Gossett infuses the words with a quiet, seething power." ( AudioFile, 2013)
“I can never read his account of his days in slavery, of his independence of spirit, of his determination to be free…without believing that it would make a difference in today's world if our contemporaries knew of such a man as Solomon Northup." (Dr. John Hope Franklin, past president of the American Historical Association, best-selling author, recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom, nation's highest civilian honor)
"[T]he extraordinary narrative of Solomon Northup is the most remarkable book that was ever issued from the American press." ( Detroit Tribune, original 1853 review) "Its truth is far greater than fiction." (Frederick Douglass, famous writer, former slave and abolitionist) "It will be read extensively, both at the North and the South." ( New York Tribune, 1853, published by Horace Greeley)

Featured Article: The 20 Best History Audiobooks You Never Heard in School


While history is by definition the study of the past, no subject tells us more about the present, or is as exciting to follow in contemporary times. The range of subgenres within history writing is huge. Some authors cover a massive scope, while others zoom in to examine tiny, overlooked elements in a new way. Unlike your history class of old, these selections don’t demand memorization of names and dates. Read on for the best in our catalog.

What listeners say about Twelve Years a Slave

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BEAUTIFUL

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved this story... it was reminicient of Federick Douglass. The story is very well read, Gossett is great! I can hardly wait to see the movie. A TERRIFIC LISTEN!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Solomon is my favorite character because when he was in charge of the slaves he found his way around the beatings.

What does Louis Gossett, Jr. bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His tone of voice makes everything come to life.

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Imagine Being Free And Then Not in 1830s America

Would you listen to Twelve Years a Slave again? Why?

I was fascinated by the evolving account of everything that transpired from kidnap into slavery to return to freedom, family and life. The reader takes the journey and endures the cruelty and despair. The day to day life of a slave is not one of sloth. It's one of industry and life preseverance. Louis Gosset, Jr's narration made it hard to put the book down.Highly, well-developed descriptive writing /oral history skill.

I will certainly listen and read this book again and will recommend it highly to others.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Solomon Northrop -- he was inventive, courageous, and acted with considerable integrity and grace. He delivered his promise to be candid and only relate what he personally witnessed and experienced.

Which scene was your favorite?

Bass listening to Solomon's / Platt's story -- signalled the end of Solomon's suffering was near.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

First-hand Account of a Free Black Man's Kidnap and Journey Back From Slavery

Any additional comments?

The stories of the other slaves were equally interesting and touching. The Afterword describing Sue Ekin's historian's fascination with what was an out-of-print jewel, was important to include. I have ordered the print book for my library.

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Mush Mouth

What disappointed you about Twelve Years a Slave?

Let me start by saying Louis Gossett Jr is a great actor. I enjoy his repertoire in the movies and theatre. As a narrator, he is terrible! He sounds as if he has marbles in his mouth. His diction is not clear and he drones on and on. As far as the story goes, I enjoyed most of it but felt it dragged on unnecessarily.we all got early on that the guy was educated and feared for his life however, his descriptions of the events were less than desirously written. As a read, I thought the book was interesting because it did give a perspective which others may not have been able to convey.

Would you recommend Twelve Years a Slave to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, only if they read the book and not listen to it.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His diction is not clear and I was distracted by his unintelligible speech.

What character would you cut from Twelve Years a Slave?

None

Any additional comments?

No

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  • 05-18-21

Liked all but the narrator

Excellent story, told in the vernacular of the times. While Louis Gossett Jr. is a fine actor, his voice drops at the end of a sentence too often, or hurries through a longer word so that I frequently missed the proper word or meaning of the sentence. If I was sitting in a quiet room, it was fine, but I’m usually doing outside chores while listening, and any ambient noise drowned out his quiet voice. But, good book!

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horrifying

For those who are interested in the truth about African slavery in America, this story is very captivating. At times the reader is filled with just rage at the slave masters, so strong that he would like to whip him just as he whipped his slaves! But at such times the reader is reminded that although we can do little to bring about justice now,Justice will be served in eternity where we must all pay the penalty for our sins unless we have cast them upon the innocent Son of God who paid the price in full, so that we can stand before God REDEEMED! and delivered from our captivity to sin, just as Solomon Northup eventually was!

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Amazing!

A marvelous first-hand account of the horrendous conditions of slavery. It definitely should be read by everyone.

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  • AG
  • 09-19-19

'Not for me' but an outstanding narration

I never chose to watch the movie version of this story because I cannot bear to watch violence. I don't know why I thought the book would be different so this review is for a book I never finished. However, the narration of the chapters I got through is outstanding. So much of Solomon's character comes to life by listening to Louis Gossett Jr.

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American history at its worst ...

. . . and told at its best. The restraint of the author, a free man held in slavery, in recalling the terrors of slave existence, is as astonishing as the story itself.

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powerful

long book, and I had to keep reminding myself it is a memoir.... actually happened.

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terrible narration; unlistenable

I'm doing something I only do in very rare & extreme situations: reviewing a book without finishing it. The reason I couldn't finish this is, the reading by Louis Gossett Jr is absolutely awful. I hate to say this because I used to love LGJr as an actor, but as a reader he made a great actor. He often sounds as if he's speaking through a mouth full of mush, and nearly every sentence ends with the last few words basically inaudible; I had to leave the volume so far up that my ears would bleed at the first 6/7ths of sentences, or leave it at a reasonable level & hope the end of the sentence didn't contain any valuable information. I'm trying to envision the producer/director standing in the studio listening to LGJr and can only conclude that they were so awed by him that they didn't actually hear what was coming out of his mouth.

i largely bought this version because of who read it; I note that some listeners think it's as bad as I do. I hope I can return this, because the only way I'm going to be able to read this book is in print or via another recording, and I really want to read it.

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