born on September 8, 1924 in Manchester, New Hampshire/ United States
died on February 25, 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts/ United States
US-American writer
100th birthday on September 8, 2024
60th anniversary of her death on February 25, 2024
Biography
“To a stranger, these little towns seem like picture postcard idylls. But when you look carefully, it's like turning over a stone and all kinds of hideous creatures crawl out from underneath. Everyone who lives in the town knows what's going on, there are no secrets, but you don't want outsiders to find out.” This was how Grace Metalious explained the subject of Peyton Place in an interview. Published in 1956 and modelled on her own home town, the novel quickly became synonymous with hypocrisy and scandal. Everything that lay behind the squeaky-clean façade of respectability in the small town — snobbery, corruption, alcoholism, infidelity, abortion, incest and murder — was revealed.
Peyton Place had made the rounds of American publishers and received many rejections before it landed in one of the very few publishing houses run by a woman – who correctly saw its potential. With 12 million copies sold, the novel broke all records, even though nobody wanted to admit to having bought “this trash,” let alone to having actually read it. And even today people in Metalious' home town of Gilmanton in New Hampshire prefer not to mention the author. Although the book was not deliberately revolutionary or feminist, it nevertheless had a considerable impact. A new tone was set in American literature and the path was paved for taboo-breakers such as Rita Mae Brown and Marilyn French. Biographer Emily Toth explains: “It was a breakthrough for freedom of expression. It set new standards for what you could say in a book – especially for women. It was an exciting, a dirty book.”
Grace Metalious (1924-1964) had married too soon and had three children in quick succession. She was a disillusioned, overworked housewife when she took refuge in writing her small-town melodrama. Success made her rich (if only for a short time), but not happy. The dubious fame of an unconventional wife was inauspicious for the career of George metalious, an aspiring school principal, and the marriage ended in divorce. Grace consoled herself with various lovers and too much alcohol. A sequel to Peyton Place was so unusable that it had to be finished by a ghostwriter, and two further novels were flops. In just under a decade, she spent about a million dollars and drank herself to death. At the age of 39, Grace Metalious died of cirrhosis of the liver.
Peyton Place lived on. It was a soap opera on television (1964-1969, ABC) and the inspiration for cult series such as Twin Peaks and Desperate Housewives. The movie adaptation (German: Glut unter der Asche) received nine Oscar nominations in 1957. The novel was published in Germany as Die Leute von Peyton Place (Rowohlt, Arche) in a translation with much of the racy language toned down.
(Text from 2013; Translated with DeepL.com; edited by Ramona Fararo, 2024.)
Please consult the German version for additional information (pictures, sources, videos, bibliography).
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