Finished: Peyton Place (Metalious) My curiosity got the best of me and I finally decided to read this 1950's blockbuster. I read it a little bit at a time for the past couple of weeks. I can vaguely remember the television series, which I'm quite sure I wasn't allowed to watch. However, I do remember Ryan O'Neal being in it and thinking he was so dreamy, lol. After seeing which character he portrayed in the book, if the television show stayed true to the book, then he was a quite unlikable character. Peyton Place is all about the closeness of a small town in New England, and when I say closeness, I mean sometimes too much closeness, i.e., they all know each other's business! There are the town gossips and the town good guys and the town drunks and the town rich guy (Leslie Harrington) with the rich son (Rodney) who gets whatever he wants, until he crashes his convertible into an oncoming truck while trying to convince a girl to have sex with him. Buh Bye Rodney. There's the town poor "shack" girl (Serena) from the wrong side of the tracks who, though she's sexually abused by her step-father as a young teenager, develops the most strength of character out of all the youngsters. There's the naive but ambitious daughter (Allison) of the hot, single, store-owning mom (Constance) in town, the product of a shameful secret of her mother's that eventually comes to light. There's the awkward town nerdy boy (Norman) who falls for Allison (and vice versa), but whose mother is so domineering that she insists on giving him enemas (ewww), and pretty much nips that relationship in the bud.There's the mysterious new principal (Tom), tall, dark and handsome, who comes to town and woos Constance. And, my favorite character, the white-haired, widowed, but not too old, town doctor, Matthew Swain. The best person in town. When Serena goes to him, a 15 year old pregnant by her disgusting stepfather (Lucas), Dr. Swain performs an illegal abortion so Serena's life won't be ruined. Then, he extracts a confession out of Lucas, runs him out of town and tells him never to come back. Of course, you know that in Peyton Place the truth will eventually come out. When Serena is 19, practically running Constance's store, still taking care of her 8th grade brother, Joey, and planning a future with longtime love (Ted), Lucas comes back to town and tries to force himself on Serena again. In self-defense, Serena bludgeons him to death with a fire poker. Serena and Joey cover up the crime by burying Lucas under the sheep pen out back. It all comes back to haunt them when the truth is discovered and Serena goes on trial for the murder. Of course, Matthew Swain steps forward to save the day and tells what happened all those years ago. Even the prosecutor doesn't really want to prosecute Serena and is thankful for the new evidence. Serena is acquitted and the town goes back to being as normal as possible. Meanwhile, the other main female character, Allison, had gone to New York to be a writer after graduating high school. She was one of the few who hated Peyton Place and couldn't wait to get out. She comes back to town for the trial of her childhood friend and ends up reconciling with her mother, who she had never forgiven for blurting out Allison's bastard status AND for marrying Tom. She also reconciles with the town she loved as a child  but had become disheartened with as an adolescent and teen. I see there's a Return to Peyton Place. Hmmm....:-)