text: why was grace metalious's "peyton place" controversial? i need a reference to anyone who lived during the time period of the release of the novel (1960s) or someone who has validly researched the novel. we are discussing this book in my senior ap english class and references and quotes for this topic are a must. the book is controversial because it dealt with sex!  specifically, sex outside of marriage.  the book was written before the sexual revolution, at a time when people believed, or pretended to believe that only people who were married should have sex.