William Peter Blatty

A signed, first edition of The Exorcist..

• William Peter Blatty (American).
• New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1971. 
• Octavo.
• 340 pages.
• Signed flat by author William Peter Blatty and director William Friedkin on title page. 
• Dark brown spine with white lettering, dust jacket is price-clipped.

William Peter Blatty was born on January 7, 1928 in New York City as the youngest of five of two Lebanese Christian immigrants. Blatty lived a chaotic childhood having to move every few months to a new apartment. Blatty's first stable home would be Georgetown University at which he earned both a bachelor's and masters, graduating in 1954 and joining the Air Force. Soon after joining the Air Force, Blatty moved to the US Information Agency in Beirut. There he began to cultivate his writing ability, publishing funny articles in local magazines.

After Beirut, Blatty went to work as the public relations director of University of Southern California where he wrote his first novel Which Way to Mecca Jack?, a humorous book about his early life and time in Beirut which published in 1960. Blatty won a game show in 1961, earning $10,000, enough where he could quit his job and focus on his writing. Blatty would publish three more comedic novels which would each earn him critical success and acclaim.

During this time Blatty began writing screenplays with director Blake Edwards as well as on his own for the first time using the nickname "Bill Blatty". In 1971, Blatty went back to writing fiction, writing The Exorcist which came out to incredible success remaining atop the New York Times Bestseller list for 17 weeks, remaining on the list 57 consecutive weeks. The novel sold over 13 million copies in the United States alone, and would receive a film adaptation in 1973.

Blatty worked with director William Friedkin to create The Exorcist. The novel and movie are set in Washington D.C. as the possession case the novel deals with is based on a real case Blatty had heard of in 1949 while at Georgetown University. The movie itself earned much financial and critical success, being the first horror film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, earning a Best Adapted Screenplay, and becoming the highest-grossing R-rated horror film until It.