An American Story: The Odyssey of Solomon Northup

Even Frederick Douglass was amazed in 1853 by Solomon Northup’s best selling story: “It is a strange history” he wrote, “its truth is stranger than fiction.” So it was. And so it is, even today. The story remains an intriguing account. In 1841, Northup, a free black New Yorker who lived in Saratoga, N.Y., was lured to Washington, DC by promises of the congenial Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton, who invited him with his violin to join their stage routine. There, Northup was drugged and awoke in William’s Slave Pen. His name had been changed to “Platt.” Eventually, he finds himself in Louisiana’s Avoyelles Parish, the property of Master Epps, a “nigger breaker.” Platt details the account of his life as a slave and the wrenching story of Patsy, a memorable female slave. Remarkably, he was freed. As Solomon Northup, he brought suit against those who enslaved him. This unique American story is not to be missed.