Solomon Northup (July 1808―after 1857) was a free-born African American from Saratoga Springs , New York . He is noted for having been kidnapped in 1841 when enticed with a job offer. When he accompanied his supposed employers to Washington D.C., they drugged him and sold him into slavery. From Washington D.C., he was transported to New Orleans where he was sold to a plantation owner from Rapides Parish, Louisiana. After 12 years in bondage, he regained his freedom in January 1853; he was one of very few to do so in such cases. Held in the Red River region of Louisiana by several different owners, he got news to his family, who contacted friends and enlisted the Governor of New York in his cause. New York state had passed a law in 1840 to recover African-American residents who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery.

The circumstances of Northup's death are uncertain and no contemporary record of him exists from after 1857.

《为奴十二年》这本回忆录的作者所罗门•诺萨普，一个拥有自由的黑人小提琴手，在某个黑夜被拐卖到南方为奴，从此失去与家人的联系，为了生存他不得不掩饰自己的音乐技能，甚至要掩藏自己识字的能力。在这十二载的绝境中，历经磨难，九死一生的他唯一不曾放弃的就是回家的愿望。最终在一位白人木匠的帮助下得以返乡，但直到最后拐卖他的真凶也并没有得到应有的惩罚，回忆录的尾声也未暗示黑奴的生存状态是否得以改善。

《为奴十二年》的故事背景被放在了南北战争前夕这样一个宏观的大背景之下，而这部作品也十分出色地完成了为时代吹响号角的光荣使命。虽然那个时代离我们已经远去，“为自由而竭力奔跑”的内涵和价值却一直被人们所歌颂；回忆那段历史对于当下的意义不仅仅是以史为鉴，告诫世人“人人生而平等”，更是在为我们这些早已被各种物欲束缚的人提供一场精神救赎之旅。让我们跟随所罗门•诺萨普的视角，重新回到美国的黑奴时期，揭露那个时代的奴隶生活。

本书情节“充满了愤怒、无奈、委屈和感动……这是一曲长达12年的悲伤挽歌，一曲长达12年的爱恋之曲……它很真实，它就是历史”。