Peyton Place is a novel depicting sensational and melodramatic events in a small New England town in the 1930s and 1940s; it was written by American novelist Grace Metalious and published in 1956. Peyton Place provoked controversy due to its depiction of taboo topics including sexuality, sexual abuse, and abortion. Nonetheless, the novel sold extremely well, and it was also adapted into successful films and television series. Metalious explores themes such as Shame and Ambivalence Towards Female Sexuality, Passing Moral Judgment and Hypocrisy, and The Intersection Between Privilege and Protection.

This guide is based on the Northeastern University Press edition.

Content Warning: The novel and the guide reference alcoholism, sexual assault, incest, death by suicide, animal cruelty, abortion, and racism.

Plot Summary

The novel is set in the small New England town of Peyton Place. The plot spans from the autumn of 1936 to the autumn of 1944; the narrative includes both unfolding events and references to storylines that took place prior to the start of the main plot. At the start of the plot, two young girls named Allison MacKenzie and Selena Cross are close friends, despite a significant difference in their economic and social class. Allison lives with her mother, Constance, a refined and elegant woman who owns a local shop. Unbeknownst to Allison, Constance is not actually a widow (as she claims)—she got pregnant with Allison due to an affair with a married man and has hidden this reality from everyone due to her shame and fear of social stigma. Selena is from a much poorer family and lives with her mother, younger brother Joey, and her abusive and alcoholic stepfather, Lucas Cross. Selena’s mother, Nellie, works as a housekeeper for Constance.

Selena and Allison are initially close friends, but they drift apart as they grapple with maturation and becoming adolescents; Allison is ambivalent about her nascent sexuality and harbors ambitions of moving away from her hometown and becoming a writer. Selena is much more focused on stability and independence because she wants to get away from her stepfather; she begins a romantic relationship with a local boy named Ted Carter. Meanwhile, Constance begins a romantic relationship with a man named Tom Makris, who moves to Peyton Place in the spring of 1937. Tom’s love for Constance and matter-of-fact attitude towards sexuality and social conventions help to liberate Constance from the shame that has always haunted her.

In the summer of 1939, when Allison and Selena are both 16 years old, Selena realizes that she is pregnant as a result of being sexually assaulted by her stepfather, Lucas. Selena begs the town doctor, Dr. Matthew Swain, to perform an abortion (which is illegal at this time)—Dr. Swain performs the procedure, even though he feels ambivalent about doing so. Dr. Swain also confronts Lucas, forcing him to sign a confession admitting to abusing Selena, and Dr. Swain demands that Lucas leave town. With Lucas gone, Selena looks forward to a happier future, aspiring to a career managing the shop owned by Constance and a marriage to Ted. Unbeknownst to Selena, her mother (Nellie Cross) has overheard Lucas admitting to the abuse, and she begins to have a psychological crisis. Meanwhile, a teenage boy named Rodney Harrington, who is the son of the wealthy millowner, gets a working-class girl pregnant; his father, Leslie Harrington, uses blackmail and bribery to force her to have an abortion. In August 1939, Nellie dies by suicide at the home of Allison and Constance, having been there for work. In the aftermath, Constance finally reveals to Tom and Allison that Allison is illegitimate and was conceived as a result of an extramarital affair.

Tom is supportive of Constance, and the two of them marry shortly thereafter. Allison finishes high school and moves to New York City to pursue a career as a writer. In December 1943, when Allison and Selena are both 20 years old, Lucas Cross returns to Peyton Place. He shows up at the house where Selena and Joey live and threatens them; Selena kills him. She and Joey decide to bury the body and conceal the crime; no one knows that Lucas was ever in Peyton Place. However, a few months later, in the spring of 1944, it comes to light that Lucas visited the town before going missing; this leads to an investigation, and the discovery of incriminating evidence. Selena admits to killing Lucas but will not explain why. Ted abandons her because he fears for his own reputation and future. When Selena’s trial begins in the summer of 1944, Allison comes back to Peyton Place to support her old friend. Allison is also distressed because she has fallen in love with an older man in New York and has begun a sexual relationship with him, only to learn that he is already married.

During the trial, Dr. Swain reveals that Lucas was sexually abusing Selena, and that she likely killed him in self-defense. Selena is found not guilty. She decides to stay in the town even though she is subject to a lot of gossip. Allison also lingers in Peyton Place for several months, gradually coming to feel a sense of peace as a result of reconnecting with her hometown.