Twelve Years a Slave

By: Solomon Northup

Narrated by: Louis Gossett Jr.

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

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.

Download your unique free map based on Solomon's narrative.

©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)

Excellent

The book was excellent in every way and Mr. Gossett's performance was superb. The author spoke with understated eloquence.

Disappointed by Narrator

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

No, if they were from Louisiana, and Yes, if they were not from Louisiana.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm a lover of history by education and interest. The story Solomon Northup related so well was fascinating to me. Everything about the story sounded accurate from what I knew about the areas of the country where the story took place and the historical time when the story took place. I learned more from his narration about plantation life and slave life than I believe I ever know before.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm from Louisiana and I'm very, very familiar with the area where Solomon Northup was in slavery. The narration of Louis Gossett made me cringe when he mispronounced place name after place name. It would have been so simple to get a qualified narrator from Louisiana who knew how to correctly pronounce the Louisiana place names. For that reason, for Louisiana friends I would recommend that they get the book and read it.

Moving and Honest

Any additional comments?

Makes me realize that, in my opinion, they did a great job making the movie. It includes so much of the book, not all, but most.

Not my favorite

It's weird how award winning books don't catch my attention...I finished it but just not what I thought ...wouldn't recommend it

Heartbreaking

Would you consider the audio edition of Twelve Years a Slave to be better than the print version?

This book took me a long time to listen to, I think the best way is to break it up into 30 - 60 minute listening periods. I think it is a must read for everyone, this happened it's real. People really went through this and we must do our best to never go backwards.

What about Louis Gossett, Jr.’s performance did you like?

His intonation and the cadence of his speaking voice was soothing at times when the story was a bit rough.

Great book!

I really enjoyed this book. No politics or hidden agenda. The author simply tells his story! A very powerful story that everyone should read.

A Birdseye view

I love the story, it’s amazing that someone made his life history. Wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator but he did a great job. I just wasn’t trilled by his voice. The detailed descriptions of what occurred between the characters was great. I imagined being there and was just saddened by how they were treated. Definitely a great listen.

Thought provoking read heart breaking experience.

This story was so enlightening to the experiences suffered not only by the author but by the slaves during this dark and shameful period of U.S. History. It's a reminder of how cruel we as humans can be towards one another. The stories told in this book pull at your heart strings and make you feel the suffering of the people of time and make you rejoice with the author at the time of his release from bondage. The narrator brings to life the story with strong expressions and his woeful sorrow in times of disparity. Really enjoyed the book and really looking forward to watching the movie to compare for details.

A total surprise, much better than the movie

This book was very interesting. The movie is a disappointment in comparison. I read the book first and was very impressed with both the writing and story line. When I saw the movie I was so let down as there is no comparison. If you have seen the movie and not yet read the book my recommendation is to listen or read this book.

A mix of emotions

This audio book has good and bad.

Compelling story, graciously told, informative without excessive description. I was so happy he returned home to his family. Louis Gossett Jr was quite a good reader but at times it felt like the volume dropped and it was hard to understand, something close to mumbling is what I got.

The story is a bit slow at times but it wasn't an angry reading. I think the best narrator was chosen. I've listed to Roots and I believe a stronger or deep, angry voice would have been wrong here. Solomon is true to his name and presents a good account of his troubles with the position that each person he meets earns their description. Kind, sad, lazy, productive, drunk, spiritual, mean and cruel are all names earned by the true character of the people he meets.