The Exorcist (First Edition)

The horror novel that brought demonic possession and exorcism into the popular mind, drawn from a 1949 case Blatty heard of as a Georgetown student: a true first printing in its unclipped jacket.

William Peter Blatty was a successful comic novelist and screenwriter before he wrote The Exorcist. The novel is set in Georgetown, where a young girl, Regan MacNeil, lives with her mother, the actress Chris MacNeil, who is in the district filming a movie. Regan’s possession leads to a long exorcism that tests the priests, physically and spiritually.

The story rests on a real case. Blatty heard in 1949, as a student in Georgetown’s class of 1950, of a supposed possession and exorcism, and later journalistic research points to a boy from Cottage City, Maryland, known by the pseudonyms Roland Doe and Robbie Mannheim. Blatty had long thought of writing it up, but his agent talked him out of it while he was a success as a comic novelist.

Harper & Row published the novel in 1971. William Friedkin’s film of 1973, with Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow and Jason Miller, brought Blatty an Oscar for his screenplay.

This is the true first printing. The copyright page states “First Edition”, the number line on the last page begins with 1, and the jacket is the first issue, priced $6.95 and features Blatty to the rear.

First edition stated on the copyright page, with the full number line, ending in 1, on the final page. Octavo. 340, [ii] pp. Original publisher’s cloth in the original unclipped dust jacket, priced $6.95. Very good in a good dust jacket. The jacket shows some rubbing and chipping along the edges and at the crease ends, with two very small tape repairs to the head and foot of the spine. Binding sound, a trifle cocked where the front hinge has loosened a little. Mild rubbing to the corners of the boards. Contents very good to near fine, with very mild toning throughout and some faint spots to the foredge.

This book is currently not on in our Leichhardt store. If you would like more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact: rarebooks@harryhartog.com.au

Catalogue number: HH000371.