By dint of Grace

Yesterday's frozen gourmet dessert is today's vanilla ice cream. And so it is with "Peyton Place," the mother of all potboiler novels about murder and sex. Written by New Hampshire's Grace Metalious and released 50 years ago Sunday, the book was deemed scandalous when published, though its plot line would likely be too tame for PBS these days. Nevertheless, it was a blockbuster best-seller, and became a movie the following year.
Things didn't work out so well for Metalious, who had been a poor housewife, wrote until she found success, but didn't handle it well. She died an alcoholic eight years later, never again achieving her early success.
Was the sordid New Hampshire town she wrote about Gilmanton, Laconia, Alton, or a mix of those places and more? We'll likely never know, but happy birthday, "Peyton Place." Where would soap operas be without you?

Posted by Jim Concannon