...Though the book is regarded by historians as one of the most important records of slavery, Northup’s “Twelve Years a Slave” fell into relative obscurity, remaining in the shadow of other books such as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and Frederick Douglass’s 1845 autobiography of his life born into slavery until his escape to a free state.

But today, Northup’s book is on non-fiction bestseller lists (for editions by various publishers), fueled by the feature film “12 Years a Slave” directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup, Michael Fassbender as plantation owner Edwin Epps and Lupita Nyong’o as fellow slave Patsey. The book is #3 on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list under Non-Fiction E-Books. As of this writing, Solomon Northup is the #5 author on Amazon’s list for top Kindle eBooks under Biographies & Memoirs, and #9 on the list for print books under the same category. There is also a new Penguin reissue of the book tied to the film, which Penguin said has been the imprint’s top seller for the past several weeks since its Sept. 1 publication, with sales increasing each week....