When I read Peyton Place in 2015--decades after it stopped being a taboo sensation and somehow worked its way into being an American classic--I had no idea the murder was based on a real case.
I won't spoil anything here (unlike the introduction to the copy of Peyton Place I read) but suffice it to say there is a scandalous family secret in Peyton Place that leads to murder...or was it more like self defense?
Does one crime excuse another one? What goes on behind closed doors? Does a community have a responsibility to protect its most vulnerable members or should each family deal with its own problems, no matter how heinous?
These are all questions raised in Peyton Place by Grace Metalious but which were first raised by “The Sheep Pen Murder,” in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. If you've read Metalious' book, the mention of the sheep pen will be familiar.
Mallett's research into the actual event and subsequent trial is thorough and intensely interesting, even if you haven't read Peyton Place. Truth is always stranger than fiction and in some cases, like Metalious', artists are forced to tone down the truth in order to even get their work accepted.
Metalious claimed the local scandal had very little influence on her book but after reading Renee Mallett's work it's hard to imagine that is the case. Metalious plucked the crime from the headlines and used nearly every detail in what would become one of the most popular and controversial books of the 20th century.
I highly recommend it for those interested in Peyton Place, female authors of the past, true crime, and dark Americana.
I received by free advance review copy from BookSirens.
