Peyton Place and Return to Peyton Place

I got this set after reading an excerpt from the new biography of Grace Metalious in "Vanity Fair". I had never read the books, nor seen the movie or the TV series. I thought I would be in for some mildly entertaining reading, but was very pleasantly surprised to discover what a great writer Metalious was. She writes about the town of Peyton Place with beautiful descriptions (especially of seasonal changes in the weather and... Read Full Review

My mother, who was born and raised in New Hampshire, and I were having a conversation about books one afternoon. I told her that I had seen someone on the subway with a copy of Peyton Place, which inspired her to launch into some stories of the controversy that had surrounded the book upon it?s publication, and the scandal that reverberated through small-town New England, with each town trying to figure out if they were the... Read Full Review

Having grown up watching the TV series based on this 1956 novel, this reviewer had always intended to someday read the book. I now can certainly see what all the furor was about. Metalious engaged in some very risky writing for that quieter, more conservative time. While anything in this novel seens tame to innocuous by today's standards, after the steamy potboilers of Jackie Collins and Danielle Steel, the author's insights... Read Full Review

The clear, eloquent writing of Metalious immediately seized my attention. The steady, powerful development of characters aroused my interests and kept me eagerly anticipating their experiences. The damnation of this literary jewel in 1956 provides excellent insight to the era. Although much has changed since 1956; the scandals, struggles and experiences depicted in the novel seem to have remained the same. I read this... Read Full Review

When I first read Peyton Place upon its publication in 1956 this book was considered highly immoral and downright trashy. What kind of woman must this Grace Metalious be to pen such a book? Sinful, sinful was the common consensus. It is a pity that Metalious did not live to see its reprinting. Reading it now from the vantage point of almost 2000, one is shown the underbelly of a small New England town, with all its conflicts... Read Full Review