Constance MacKenzie

In the subsequent film adaptation, she was played by Lana Turner; in the sequel Return to Peyton Place, by Eleanor Parker; in the primetime television series, by Dorothy Malone (and briefly by Lola Albright); and in the daytime soap opera Return to Peyton Place, by Bettye Ackerman and later by Susan Brown.

She met, acquired a job with, and eventually fell in love with a man named Allison MacKenzie, who ran an exotic fabric shop in New York City.

Constance didn't approve of Allison's friendship with the much poorer Selena Cross, but eventually, she saw something good in her, and offered her a job at the Thrifty Corner; later on, she became manager.

She met the new school principal, Michael Rossi (named Tomas Makris in the novel's initial printing), and they fell in love, and eventually married.

In the sequel, Allison's book was published, and was met with scathing reviews by the more hypocritical people in Peyton Place, namely Marion Partridge and Roberta Carter.