Oscar win for 12 Years a Slave

The film 12 Years a Slave has won the Best Picture Oscar, the Best Supporting Actress Award and the Best Adapted Screenplay Award at the 86th Academy Awards. Based on the 1853 memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup, the book, Twelve Years a Slave, presents a shocking first-hand account of one man’s remarkable fight for freedom after 12 years of slavery. Born a free man, Northup was kidnapped and sold into slavery in pre-civil war Louisiana. This narrative reveals how Northup survived the harsh conditions of slavery, including smallpox, lashings, and an attempted hanging. His account describes the daily life of slaves in Louisiana, their diet and living conditions and the relationship between master and slave. A bestseller upon its release, the book then fell into obscurity before being rediscovered by a Louisiana historian.