Peyton Place (novel)

Peyton Place (novel)

Company type	Novel
Industry	Literature
Founded	1956 (1956)
Founder	Grace Metalious
Products	Novel

Peyton Place is a 1956 novel authored by American writer Grace Metalious. Set in a small, conservative New England town before and after World War II, the narrative centers on three women grappling with their identities amid a community rife with gossip. The book explores themes such as social hypocrisy, class disparities, and privilege, while delving into contentious subjects including incest, abortion, adultery, desire, and homicide. Upon release, it sold 60,000 copies within ten days and remained on The New York Times best seller list for 59 consecutive weeks.

This novel gave rise to an enduring franchise lasting over forty years. In 1957, 20th Century-Fox transformed it into a feature film, and Metalious followed up with a sequel titled Return to Peyton Place (1959), which also received a film adaptation in 1961. The original work inspired a prime time television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television, airing from 1964 through 1969, cementing "Peyton Place" as a cultural reference for scandal-ridden small towns.

Additionally, a daytime soap opera called Return to Peyton Place was broadcast between 1972 and 1974. The franchise expanded further with two television movies: Murder in Peyton Place (1977) and Peyton Place: The Next Generation (1985).

Background

Grace Metalious and her husband George initially contemplated naming the setting after Potter Place, an actual locale near Andover, New Hampshire. Opting for a fictional designation, they merged "Payton," inspired by Texas, with "Place," adjusting the spelling to form Peyton Place. Metalious described this fictional town as "a blend of all small towns where darkness festers beneath the surface and where secrets are carefully concealed." Author Barbara Delinsky characterized the town as "a character in itself—a charming front masking deep-seated troubles."

The characters and incidents were drawn from Metalious' personal experiences and neighboring communities. For example, Selena Cross’s story was influenced by Barbara Roberts of Gilmanton Ironworks, who killed her abusive father. Due to the censorship standards of the era, Metalious’ editor altered the depiction of incest to stepfather abuse in the published version—an editorial decision that Metalious opposed.

Plot

The narrative opens in 1937 and continues into the years following World War II.

Constance MacKenzie departs Peyton Place for New York City, where she bears a daughter named Allison fathered by a married man involved in the fabric trade. After his passing, Constance returns home as a widow and raises Allison while managing an apparel shop called the Thrifty Corner. Allison grows up feeling isolated but dreams of becoming a published writer.

The Cross family embodies the town’s impoverished segment: Nellie and Lucas Cross live with their daughter Selena—Nellie’s biological child but not Lucas’s. Lucas’s son Paul leaves Peyton Place after accusing his father of theft. Nellie and Lucas have another child named Joey who resides in a rundown neighborhood slated for redevelopment. Despite their economic differences, Selena and Allison briefly form a friendship; however, their bond weakens due to Selena’s involvement with Ted Carter and her difficult domestic circumstances. At age fourteen, Selena suffers abuse at the hands of Lucas and becomes pregnant; local physician Matthew Swain performs an abortion and expels Lucas from town. Subsequently, Nellie takes her own life.

Additional storylines include Leslie Harrington, proprietor of the local woolen mills whose son Rodney dies in an automobile accident, as well as Seth Buswell, a newspaper reporter.

Adaptations and portrayals of characters

The novel Peyton Place was transformed into a motion picture in 1957, followed by a sequel titled Return to Peyton Place in 1961, both featuring completely new casts. Additionally, the narrative served as the foundation for the soap operas Peyton Place (1964–1969) and Return to Peyton Place (1972–1974), as well as the television films Murder in Peyton Place (1977) and Peyton Place: The Next Generation (1985).

Character	Peyton Place (1957)	Return to Peyton Place (1961)	Peyton Place (1964–1969)	Return to Peyton Place (1972–1974)	Murder in Peyton Place (1977)	Peyton Place: The Next Generation (1985)
Constance MacKenzie	Lana Turner	Eleanor Parker	Dorothy Malone Lola Albright	Bettye Ackerman Susan Brown	Dorothy Malone
Allison MacKenzie	Diane Varsi	Carol Lynley	Mia Farrow	Katherine Glass Pamela Susan Shoop	Mentioned
Michael Rossi	Lee Philips	Robert Sterling	Ed Nelson	Guy Stockwell	Ed Nelson
Selena Cross	Hope Lange	Tuesday Weld	colspan="1" Template:CEmpty	Margaret Mason	colspan="2" Template:CEmpty
Matthew Swain	Lloyd Nolan	colspan="1" Template:CEmpty	Warner Anderson	colspan="3" Template:CEmpty
Rodney Harrington	Barry Coe	colspan="1" Template:CEmpty	Ryan O'Neal	Lawrence P. Casey Yale Summers	Mentioned
Betty Anderson	Terry Moore	colspan="1} Template:CEmpty	Barbara Parkins	Julie Parrish Lynn Loring	Janet Margolin	Barbara Parkins
Leslie Harrington	Leon Ames	colspan="1" Template:CEmpty	Paul Langton	Stacy Harris Frank Maxwell	colspan="2" Template:CEmpty
Norman Harrington	Russ Tamblyn	colspan="1" Template:CEmpty	Christopher Connelly	Ron Russell	Christopher Connelly
Eli Carson	colspan="2" Template:CEmpty	Frank Ferguson		colspan="2" Template:CEmpty
Elliot Carson	colspan="2" Template:CEmpty	Tim O'Connor	Warren Stevens	Tim O'Connor
Ada Jacks	colspan="2" Template:CEmpty	Evelyn Scott		colspan="1} Template:CEmpty	Evelyn Scott
Rita Jacks	colspan="2} Template:CEmpty	Patricia Morrow	colspan="1} Template:CEmpty	Patricia Morrow

Cultural references

• The 1968 hit "Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C. Riley describes the PTA as "just a little Peyton Place," underscoring its significance in popular culture.
• Stephen King incorporates mentions of the novel and its series within his works 'Salem's Lot, 11/22/63, and the novella The Library Policeman.
• The television comedy Laverne & Shirley includes a reference to the novel in the episode titled Frank's Flink.
• In Billy Joel's 1989 track "We Didn't Start the Fire", Peyton Place is cited as a notable event from the year 1956.
• The prime time drama series Savannah features a central character named Peyton, reflecting the novel’s cultural resonance.
• Within the 1990 video game Ultima VI: The False Prophet, an innkeeper identifies himself as "Peyton," serving as an homage to the title.
• The television show Gilmore Girls alludes to Peyton Place in connection with concealed family separations.

See also

• Illegitimacy in fiction

Further reading

• Callahan, Michael. "Peyton Place's Real Victim", featured in Vanity Fair (March 2006), p. 332
• Cameron, Ardis. Unbuttoning America: A Biography of "Peyton Place" (Cornell University Press, 2015). 240 pages. Also accessible via JSTOR.
• Hirsh-Dickinson, Sally. "Dirty whites and dark secrets: Sex and race in 'Peyton Place'" (University of New Hampshire, 2007)