The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition

"What an excellent day for an exorcism..." Originally published in 1971, The Exorcist, one of the most controversial novels ever written, went on to become a literary phenomenon: It spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list, seventeen consecutively at number one. Inspired by a true story of a child's demonic possession in the 1940s, William Peter Blatty created an iconic novel that focuses on Regan, the eleven-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C. A small group of overwhelmed yet determined individuals must rescue Regan from her unspeakable fate, and the drama that ensues is gripping and unfailingly terrifying. Two years after its publication, The Exorcist was turned into a hugely popular motion picture, garnering ten Academy Award nominations. On opening day of the film, lines of the novel's fans stretched around city blocks. In Chicago, frustrated moviegoers used a battering ram to gain entry through the double side doors of a theater, while in Kansas City, police used tear gas to disperse an impatient crowd who tried to force their way into a cinema. The three major television networks carried footage of these events, with CBS's Walter Cronkite devoting almost ten minutes to the story. The Exorcist was, and is, more than just a novel and a film: It is a literary landmark. Revised and expanded by the author before his death, including new dialogue, a new character, and a chilling new extended scene, this unique edition of William Peter Blatty's searing novel of faith provides an unforgettable reading experience that will continue to shock, edify, and terrify a new generation of readers.

About the Author :
William Peter Blatty (1928-2017) was the bestselling author of The Exorcist, which he turned into an Academy Award-winning screenplay. The son of immigrant parents, he was a comic novelist before embarking on a four-decade career as a successful Hollywood writer. Blatty died on January 12, 2017, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Review :
"A horror story for all midnights." - The Boston Globe "A tremendous novel . . . fast, powerful, and completely gripping, a hypnotic combination of morality tale and supernatural detective story. A parable for our times, a stunning achievement." - London Sunday Express "The Exorcist should be read twice; the first time for the passion and horrifying intensity of the story, with a second reading to savor the subtleties of language and phrasing. . . . It's an experience you will never forget." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Suspense that never lets up!" - Publishers Weekly "A fantastic and deeply religious novel that will touch the reader to his very soul as it touches on things in this world that cannot be explained away rationally." - Texas Abilene Reporter-News "The ultimate in scare fare." - Los Angeles Times "There are not many readers who will be unmoved. Written in a literate style, The Exorcist is to most other novels of its kind as an Einstein equation is to an accountant's column of figures." - New York Times Book Review "Immensely satisfying, it hold its readers in a vise-like grip worthy of Poe." - Los Angeles Times "Wonderfully exciting." - Newsweek "Absolutely superb. Blatty makes you think this scary tale really might have happened." - Cleveland Plain Dealer "Up till dawn, I was, with The Exorcist. A shocker . . . driving to a violent conclusion." - Cosmopolitan "A page-turner par excellence. Poe and Mary Shelley would recognize [Blatty] as working in their ambiguous limbo between the natural and the supernatural . . . hair-rising." - Life