YOUR COMMENTS

Well, they got the fashion right! Red plaid flannel is every NH natives haute couture.
- AP, Rochester

To John and Michael,
Thank you for your commentary.
As witness to the aftermath of this woman’s life it is my hope that her children, grand and great grandchildren can look past the impact she had on their lives and feel a sense of pride for Grace’s literary accomplishments. I hope the bobble head appeals to their sense of humor as much as it does mine.
To those who read the story in last weeks paper about the Gilmanton house being haunted by Graces ghost, I have it on good authority that the property was haunted when the Metalious couple bought it.
- Kathy, Raymond

Say what you will about Grace Metalious. There's a lot to say, and most of it's true.

I largely agree with John Krats' assessment of Metalious' character, but what he neglects to acknowledge is the manner in which Grace Metalious channeled much of the antipathy she felt toward her fellow man (including her own husband and children).

While PEYTON PLACE and the books that followed are coarse in content and remarkable for how they lovingly linger over the baser aspects of mankind's existence, they are, as a whole, a rather intelligent commentary on the human condition.

Grace Metalious wasn't a genius in any sense of the word; if anything, she was little more than a savant who managed to parlay her obsession with the darker aspects of that which powers our lives into a literary work that's absorbing,and engaging, and, in my opinion, still resonates some fifty-odd years later.

I'm neither an advocate nor an apologist for Grace or her work, but to try to diminish either the work or the woman behind it without acknowledging the contribution she made to literature and to the ongoing social commentary of contemporary life only lessens those who seek to detract her.

Rather, we should acknowledge that, despite fantastic odds, Grace Metalious managed to produce a work that endures, if not for the purity of its prose, but for the fact that it dared speak of things that, to that point, were barely hinted at.

Say what you will about Metalious and her writing, but the fact remains: both the woman and her work continue to serve as examples of what is possible when one is determined to find one's voice, and remain true to it.

Grace did both, and it killed her. The woman was her own worst enemy, and that was her punishment. What she was, and what she left us, is, to this day, her enduring legacy, and I for one salute her for it.
- Michael J. Curtiss, Allenstown, NH

The absurd reality is that she was not even from Gilmanton. She was from Manchester and was essentially a recluse housewife who literally locked her children out of the house so she could write her book of fiction.

Her book Peyton Place was an elaborate fantasy that she constructed in her mind and had little if anything to do Gilmanton other than the rumours she heard. I would suggest the basis of her book is much more the reflection her own antisocial traits and sexual desire.

The bizarre irony is that she went on to live much of the fantasy she concocted in the book and was killed for her trouble. The irony is that she had to leave Gilmanton in order to find the sort of sordid characters described in the book that would ultimately steal her fortune, soul and her pulse.
- John Krats, Manchester, New Hampshire

To Tracey. I suspect you will never have the occasion to know. Harmless, fun, collectable that recognizes significant contributors to the State. If you don't agree with it, don't buy it. I'll buy one for the collection, and appreciate the efforts of the historical society.
- Carl, Concord

She was a hardcore alcoholic, shouldn't there be a little plastic bottle of booze? Has anyone read Peyton Place in the last 25 years? Very important story!
- Gail, Nashua

Whores of Babylon immortalized in stone! Remember the commandments.
- MIke, Concord

How is having a bobblehead made in your image an honor?
- tracey, manchester

Can't wait to buy one of those, as my mom and grandparents whereborn and raised in Gilmanton in 1925.She was pretty tight liped about it, couldn't get her to go into detail.
- RB, Rochester