Return to Peyton Place

Return to Peyton Place is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious.

Hoping to cash in on the phenomenal success of her first novel, the blockbuster hit Peyton Place (1956), Metalious penned a sequel centering on the life and loves of author Allison Mackenzie, who ironically follows in the footsteps of her mother by having an affair with a married man.

While Return to Peyton Place had many of the same soap opera elements of the original, it lacked its narrative style, and read like a hack novel that had been written quickly and without much thought in order to make a fast buck. Although it sold well, its total sales in no way approached those of its predecessor and the 1961 film adaptation - unlike Peyton Place - was a critical and commercial failure. (An all-new cast was hired to spare the expense of re-engaging the same actors, but this only seemed to add to the tawdry appearance of the production.)

A daytime drama titled Return to Peyton Place aired on NBC from April 3, 1972 to January 4, 1974, but this series was based on the original book and not its sequel.