Steve McQueen’s Film Is a Box-Office Test Case

The movie industry is waiting to see if “12 Years a Slave,” a story focusing on an African-American, can garner a global audience.

    



An Escape From Slavery, Now a Movie, Has Long Intrigued Historians

Solomon Northup told a story of escaping from slavery in 1853, and for decades scholars have been trying to untangle the truth of his account.

    



Professor Says He Has Solved a Mystery Over a Slave’s Novel

A novel praised for its dramatic depiction of Southern life in the mid-1850s became a best seller, but its tantalizing secret — the author’s identity — may have been solved.