William Peter Blatty "The Exorcist" Signed Artist Gift Edition, Slipcased Limited Edition of 1,000 [Sealed]

"The power of Christ compels you!"

When originally published in 1971, The Exorcist became not only a bestselling literary phenomenon, but one of the most frightening and controversial novels ever written. When the author adapted his book to the screen two years later, it then became one of the most terrifying movies ever made.

Personally Signed by Mark Potts and limited to only 1,000

Suntup Editions have been in high demand recently and this signed artist edition sold out within a couple of hours after being made available to the general public.

Suntup Editions 2021. William Peter Blatty "The Exorcist" Signed Artist Gift Edition. Limited to only 1,000 slipcased copies.  This edition has been personally signed by Mark Potts. Exclusive introduction by Academy Award winning director, William Friedkin. Six full color illustrations by Marc Potts. Dust jacket with stunning wrap-around artwork by Marc Potts (the only edition featuring the dust jacket. Bookmark included. Sealed without any flaws. 

Blatty fictionalized the true story of a child's demonic possession in the 1940s. The deceptively simple story focuses on Regan, the 11-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C.; the child apparently is possessed by an ancient demon. It's up to a small group of overwhelmed yet determined humans to somehow rescue Regan from this unspeakable fate. Purposefully raw and profane, this novel still has the extraordinary ability to literally shock us into forgetting that it is "just a story." The Exorcist remains a truly unforgettable reading experience.

THIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD OUT FROM THE PUBLISHER

The fine press limited edition of The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty is presented in four states:

1. Roman Numeral Edition
2. Signed Lettered Edition
3. Signed Numbered Edition
4. Signed Artist Edition

This is the state 4, Artist Gift Edition. Please note that Artist Gift editions are not numbered.

Signed Artist Gift Edition

• Personally signed by the illustrator, Mark Potts
• Limited to 1000 copies.
• 6” x 9” trim size.
• 400 Pages.
• Full cloth, smyth-sewn binding.
• Two-hits foil stamping.
• Exclusive introduction by Academy Award winning director, William Friedkin.
• Six full color illustrations by Marc Potts.
• Dust jacket with stunning wrap-around artwork by Marc Potts (the only edition featuring the dust jacket.
• Housed in an embossed paper covered slipcase.
• Bookmark with all pre-orders.

PUBLICATION: Summer 2021

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of this iconic masterpiece of horror and paranormal suspense, Suntup Editions is delighted to announce a fine press limited edition of The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. One of the most controversial novels ever written, The Exorcist was first published in June 1971, and would go on to become a cultural phenomenon. The book spent fifty-seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, seventeen consecutively at #1. Five decades later, the novel retains its power to possess readers with its raw and visceral prose.

Inspired by a 1949 article in The Washington Post in which a Catholic priest recounts his experience performing the ritual of exorcism on a young child, William Peter Blatty's groundbreaking novel details the demonic possession of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil. When neither medical professionals nor psychiatrists can come to Regan's aid, her mother enlists the assistance of two priests. Overwhelmed but determined, they endeavor to rescue Regan from an unspeakable fate. To do so, they must face a series of terrifying moments that will test not only their strength, but the very core of their faith.

Two years after its publication, The Exorcist, was adapted for the screen by Blatty. The film, directed by William Friedkin, who has penned an exclusive introduction for this edition of the novel, would become a wildly successful motion picture, garnering ten Academy Award nominations.

On September 27, 2011, The Exorcist was re-released as a 40th Anniversary Edition in hardcover, paperback and audiobook featuring new and revised material. Of this edition, Blatty wrote: "This will have a touch of new material in it as part of an all-around polish of the dialogue and prose. First time around I never had the time (meaning the funds) to do a second draft, and this, finally, is it. With forty years to think about it, a few little changes were inevitable — plus one new character in a totally new, very spooky scene. This is the version I would like to be remembered for." We are very pleased to publish this version; the author’s preferred text in our fine press edition of The Exorcist.

Background

The Exorcist is a horror novel written by William Peter Blatty. It is based on a supposedly genuine 1949 exorcism Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit and Catholic school. The exorcism was partially performed in both Cottage City, Maryland and Bel-Nor, Missouri. Several area newspapers reported on a speech a minister gave to an amateur parapsychologysociety, in which he claimed to have exorcised a demon from a thirteen-year-old boy named Robbie, and that the ordeal lasted a little more than six weeks, ending on April 19, 1949

Film Adaptation

The novel was made into a successful Academy Award-winning horror film in 1973, with the screenplay written by Blatty. The filmoriginally contained several key sequences from the novel, which were cut prior to release by director Friedkin over Blatty's protests. The deleted scenes, and some new digital effects, were inserted into the re-release subtitled "The Version You've Never Seen" in 2000.

Trivia

While he was writing the novel, William Peter Blatty was collecting unemployment benefits. William Peter Blatty based the character of Chris MacNeil on his good friend Shirley MacLaine. Prior to the 1973 production, MacLaine attempted to have a movie made of Blatty's novel and interested Lew Grade in backing the project, but the plans fell through. According to one of Blatty's subsequent books describing the making of the film, MacLaine's adopted daughter Sachiko was the subject of curiosity and ostracism after the film's release, as it was at once apparent that Chris was meant to be MacLaine, and Sachiko's classmates and even some teachers assumed that Sachiko had been possessed and had perhaps committed the murders and sexual atrocities described in the book. According to Mark Kermode, the photo of the girl on the cover of the novel is MacLaine's daughter.

According to Rev. Father William O'Malley (who played Father Joseph Dyer in the film), the events depicted in the film are approximately 80% true. He claims the big discrepancies between the movie and case it was inspired by were: it was a boy who was possessed, not a girl; the possession did not occur in Georgetown, but just outside DC in Cottage City, MD. In this case, the boy's head did not rotate 180 degrees, though he claims that nearly everything else in the movie actually occurred. The name of the boy who was subject of the "true" exorcism that inspired Blatty's novel was Ronald Hunkeler. After he was "cured" he went on to attend Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, graduating in 1954. He was later a scientist with NASA. He refuses all interviews regarding his exorcism. At last account, he was rumored to be living in Laurel, MD.

Author William Peter Blatty once won $10,000 on the Groucho Marxtelevision show "You Bet Your Life" (1950). When Groucho asked what he planned to do with the money, he said he planned to take some time off to "work on a novel." This was the result.

Many years later, Blatty followed the first sequel of the film with a novel, Legion. The movie Exorcist III was based on this novel and directed by Blatty.

About the artist

Marc Potts is a British artist and occasional author, living and working in rural Devon in the South-west of England. The wooded valleys, wild moors and rugged coasts play a part in inspiring the feel of his art, along with a deep abiding love of ancient Northern European history and its folklore and mythology. His body of work has a dual nature, on the one hand within some pieces there is a darkness that is balanced by the spirituality within the artistic process, a raw quality … and yet on the other hand he is also known for creating images of the ‘un-natural history’ of the land, paintings of folkloric creatures, full of humour and whimsy, with a definite atmosphere of classic vintage illustration.

Marc’s art has appeared on many book and magazine covers and he has illustrated a variety of publications. His images have been the inspiration for many products including figurines, jewelry and clothing. His work has been collected internationally and exhibited within Europe for many years, and for the past four years has had the great pleasure of exhibiting regularly in the U.S.A. Marc has written 2 books, ‘The Mythology of the Mermaid and Her Kin’ and ‘How to Draw and Paint Dragons’, and is currently writing a third for a future crowd-funding campaign inspired by his Pixy and Goblin art, with his wife Kelly.

Reference - https://www.marcpottsart.com/about