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Inside Peyton Place: The Life of Grace Metalious
“Indian summer is like a woman. Ripe, hotly passionate, but fickle, she comes and goes as she pleases so that one is never sure whether she will come at all, nor for how long she will stay.”
So begins Peyton Place by Grace Metalious (1924–1964). In September 1956, it burst onto the American scene as the most controversial novel of the century. Its publication was also an extraordinary story of personal triumph. Metalious, an unpretentious housewife from the wrong side of the tracks, had written an explosive bestseller. From a ramshackle cottage in a small New England mill town, she zoomed to national stardom. She met movie stars, famous writers, and the hangers-on who gravitate to those who achieve sudden wealth. She partied with the glamorous; she traveled; always a generous friend, she entertained lavishly. It was a Cinderella dream. But it did not last.
Metalious refused to be confined by the fifties' notions of a woman's place. In her struggle to find herself, she lifted the lid off sex and violence, power and powerlessness, truth and hypocrisy, and became known as the Pandora in Blue Jeans. “If I'm a lousy writer,” she said, “then an awful lot of people have got lousy taste.”
Reporters could not resist the story: A wife and mother of three had written this sensational exposé. Her own affairs, her personal excesses, her outspokenness, continually shocked and fascinated America.
Emily Toth has given us a complete and sympathetic portrait of Metalious: the idealistic young scribbler, the partier, the sometimes-reluctant wife and mother. Tracing the television shows, the films, the Peyton Place sequels and later novels, Toth shows Metalious plagued by periods of self-doubt and loneliness, striving desperately and feeling pressured to create another “hit.”
Grace Metalious's life is the material modern novels are made of. Inside “Peyton Place” is the story of a woman out of step with her times, a poignant tale of a strong yet vulnerable individual who dreamed of having everything―and then unfortunately found it.
So begins Peyton Place by Grace Metalious (1924–1964). In September 1956, it burst onto the American scene as the most controversial novel of the century. Its publication was also an extraordinary story of personal triumph. Metalious, an unpretentious housewife from the wrong side of the tracks, had written an explosive bestseller. From a ramshackle cottage in a small New England mill town, she zoomed to national stardom. She met movie stars, famous writers, and the hangers-on who gravitate to those who achieve sudden wealth. She partied with the glamorous; she traveled; always a generous friend, she entertained lavishly. It was a Cinderella dream. But it did not last.
Metalious refused to be confined by the fifties' notions of a woman's place. In her struggle to find herself, she lifted the lid off sex and violence, power and powerlessness, truth and hypocrisy, and became known as the Pandora in Blue Jeans. “If I'm a lousy writer,” she said, “then an awful lot of people have got lousy taste.”
Reporters could not resist the story: A wife and mother of three had written this sensational exposé. Her own affairs, her personal excesses, her outspokenness, continually shocked and fascinated America.
Emily Toth has given us a complete and sympathetic portrait of Metalious: the idealistic young scribbler, the partier, the sometimes-reluctant wife and mother. Tracing the television shows, the films, the Peyton Place sequels and later novels, Toth shows Metalious plagued by periods of self-doubt and loneliness, striving desperately and feeling pressured to create another “hit.”
Grace Metalious's life is the material modern novels are made of. Inside “Peyton Place” is the story of a woman out of step with her times, a poignant tale of a strong yet vulnerable individual who dreamed of having everything―and then unfortunately found it.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
409 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1980
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101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 18, 2007
This is a wonderfully-written biography about the woman who wrote Peyton Place. Her life was not "trashy," but from reading the book, you get a sense of what drove her to write her famous blockbuster novel. She was an oppressed housewife, and writing the book was her refuge. Interestingly, after she wrote Peyton Place, she didn't think anyone would publish it. And then one day, it did get published, and it changed her life and American literary culture forever.
October 22, 2015
Fascinating biography about the woman who wrote Peyton Place. Very well written and a great insight into the life of Grace Metalious and what drove her.
April 2, 2021
Emil Toth must have interviews 100’s of people to compile such a comprehensive biography of Grace Metalious and her life that led to writing Peyton Place.
October 25, 2021
A thorough look at the life of Grace Metalious and the birth, life, and afterlife of her most (in)famous novel, Peyton Place.
Want to read
July 17, 2014New Hapshire
August 17, 2024
I find the story of Grace Metalious more compelling that the Peyton Place novel.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews