Metalious’s prose is seldom subtle – especially not her sultry depictions of an Indian summer – but it is effective. Her ability to create an effective set piece – such as a mini-arc featuring all the town’s drunks holed up in the same cellar – is really quite astonishing. About halfway through, I realized that while the book was oversold in terms of outrageousness, it has been grossly undersold in terms of literary merit. Toth, Emily (2000). Inside Peyton Place: The Life of Grace Metalious. University Press of Mississippi. p.309. ISBN 1-57806-268-3.

Other storylines follow Leslie Harrington, owner of the local woolen mills, whose son Rodney dies in a car accident, as well as newspaper man Seth Buswell.

Downward Spiral

I won’t have it!” she cried, stamping her foot and flinging her cigarette into the empty fireplace. “I simply will not stand for it!” Many of Metalious’s characters initially present as archetypes. Her gift is in giving them multiple dimensions. I think it is a testament to her talent that – with the exception of Doc Swain, with his flexible ethics – there isn’t a single person in Peyton Place that I totally and thoroughly liked. Everyone is flawed, or damaged, or somehow twisted by life. Some are able to overcome this. Others are not. Peyton Place’ fue escrito en los años 50; el éxito fue tan grande que luego llegó una secuela. Después, la novela se convirtió en película, y finalmente en serie de televisión, que probablemente es la forma que más le pegue a esta historia, porque al fin y al cabo es un culebrón. Lo sabía antes de empezarlo, pero aún así me esperaba más. No sé, esperaba engancharme más y empatizar más con los personajes. Tiene las virtudes de un culebrón: se lee rápido, y no aburre sino que entretiene. Pero también sus defectos: personajes horriblemente planos y unos clímax histéricos y manidos que caen en un ridículo bastante estrepitoso. This is the main scumbag of the novel speaking to his stepdaughter. The publishers made Grace change the character into a stepfather. A primera vista Peyton Place parece un pueblo bonito y tranquilo…hasta que levantas las alfombras y se revela toda la mierda que escondían debajo. Secretos y rumores que sus habitantes están más que dispuestos a difundir y seguir perpetuando; donde todos hablan de todos aún sin saber (¿de qué me suena esto? 🤔); con hambre de escándalos, ya que subrayar defectos y errores ajenos hace que los propios no parezcan para tanto; y donde el que se sale de la norma establecida es señalado y ridiculizado, la mayor parte de las veces por envidia y falta de coraje para hacer lo mismo por parte del que señala.

From the original review by W.G. Rogers (AP) of Peyton Place by Grace Metalious in The Ogden Standard-Examiner, September 24, 1956: Grace made statements to interviewers like: “Everybody who lives in town knows that’s going on. There are no secrets, but they don’t want outsiders to know,” and “To a tourist these towns look as peaceful as a picture postcard, but if you go beneath that picture … all kinds of strange things crawl out.” Hay tantos personajes que es aquí donde esta lo importante de la novela, en sus diálogos, en sus historias, y obviamente vas a tener tus personajes favoritos con sus historias y personajes que vas a odiar, pero incluso los que odias vas a querer enterarte de sus historia. thanks to WildBlue Press for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.Peyton Place became shorthand for secret scandals, mostly involving sex. Its author, Grace Metalious, was a New Hampshire schoolteacher’s wife whose own scandals were anything but secret. She was a mother of three and, by all accounts, a lousy housewife who drank, swore, wore baggy jeans and cheated on her husband. You have no idea of the kind of life I lead when my father is home,” Barbara Robert confessed, words that would come to haunt a year later when the full truth of conditions at the Roberts Farm became known to everyone. I thought this book was excellent and I give the author cudos for writing this book when she did and to the publisher for publishing it. I was waffling at 4.5 stars and given this plus the author's writing I decided to rate it 5 on GR rather than down to 4 (since GR doesn't offer 1/2 stars). Simpson, James Beasley (1998). Simpson's Contemporary Quotations. Houghton Mifflin. p.311. ISBN 0-395-43085-2. La autora se muestra finísima, directa y certera en la crítica a la hipocresía de la sociedad, a los sinsentidos del puritanismo, al abuso de poder desde los estamentos religiosos y empresariales. Esto se da, tristemente, en todas partes, pero sin duda en las comunidades pequeñas destaca aún más, puesto que la vida de cualquier, parece de dominio público. ¿Lo mejor? La narración consigue hacerte sentir que tú eres una vecina más, cotilleando lo que sucede al resto a través del visillo. Y eso engancha, mucho.

While the paths of Allison and Selena constitute a major portion of the narrative, their storylines are joined by many others.Both Grace and Barbara had tragic events in their lives. It was fascinating that 1940s and 1950s small town residents could forgive and embrace a young woman for murder more easily than a rebellious writer who would not conform to small town standards. In spite of the longstanding success of the television version of Peyton Place, which featured guest stars like Gena Rowlands and is thought to have launched the careers of the likes of Mia Farrow and Ryan O’Neal, Metalious was sheepish about the association of the Peyton Place brand with tawdriness. According to Callahan, she threw her drink in the face of the show’s screenwriter when he asked if it was autobiographical. Bienvenidas/os a Peyton Place, pasear por sus calles y conocer a sus habitantes alterará considerablemente vuestro sistema nervioso. The original movie Peyton Place (1957) starred Lana Turner and Hope Lange. A TV series Peyton Place ran from 1964 to 1969 and was the springboard for a number of actors including Ryan O’Neal and Mia Farrow. Return to Peyton Place (1961) was directed by Jose Ferrer and its stars included Jeff Chandler, Carol Lynley and Tuesday Weld. A daytime soap opera titled Return to Peyton Place ran from 1972 to 1974, and the franchise had two made-for-television movies: Murder in Peyton Place and Peyton Place: The Next Generation in 1977 and 1985 respectively.

If you like secrets, especially the ones that only slowly come to light, you should really think about renting an Airbnb in Peyton Place. Grace Metalious (September 8, 1924 – February 25, 1964) was an American author best remembered for her sensational novel Peyton Place. It caused incredible outrage when it was published in 1956, but went on to become one of the bestselling books of all time. Metalious — the "Pandora in bluejeans" — was said by some to be a dreadful writer and a purveyor of filth, but her most famous book changed the publishing industry forever. With regard to her success, she said, "If I'm a lousy writer, then an awful lot of people have lousy taste," and as to the frankness of her work, she stated, "Even Tom Sawyer had a girlfriend, and to talk about adults without talking about their sex drives is like talking about a window without glass."There were a few grammatical errors throughout-but that seems endemic to the ebook format. Also, try not to read the footnotes in your first pass, some are spoilers - as much as a nearly 80 year old event can be spoiled.) Yes, even by today's standards this book is quite the scandalous read. I've heard it spoken of with winks and nudges since I was a kid, and finally decided to read it and . . . . well! Affairs, abortions, drunken benders, legal and political machinations, unhappy marriages, abuse, swears, religious crises, it's all there! Peyton Place seems like a nice, quiet little town, until you peer behind the curtains, and then the ugly underbelly is revealed. The book was highly addictive, told in a gossipy style that was like reading a tabloid or listening to a nosy neighbor dish the dirt. After Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Lols and Harold Robbins’ The Carpetshaggers I thought well, why not, let’s do it : Peyton Place, the 1956 trash classic to complete the trilogy. I did not like being regarded as a freak because I spent time in front of a typewriter instead of a sink. And George did not like my not liking the things I was supposed to like.” After George returned home from the military he had an affair; Grace retaliated with an affair of her own.