For those that may not know, "Peyton Place" was at first a best selling book in the 1950's. It was so controversial due it subject being a teen girl in a small town who was molested by her father and made pregnant. It also involved a small town doctor who recommended an abortion for the girl. Times being as they were there was a lot of gossip and small town politics along with class themes. The book was made into a major motion picture (Debuted at the Colonial Theater in Laconia) and later an afternoon soap opera that was filmed in Camden Maine.
It caused quite a stir in Gilmanton and the Iron Works and it lasted a long time. When I was around ten (1968) I asked if this was "Peyton Place" while I was in the Iron Works store and vividly recall the dirty looks I received. It really did become a byword for a small town or place or organization with secret scandals. David Halberstam wrote about Grace and her story in his book "The Fifties". She was considered groundbreaking in the cause for Women's Rights but I just think of her as a tragic figure.
The people in Gilmanton treated her badly (and she rubbed her success in their faces) and I believe her husband who was a local school principal ended up losing his job over the affair.
There have been several articles over the years in The Manchester Union Leader-her home town which I believe you can still access.
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