The epic reimagining of the extraordinary life of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the American heiress who lived and loved on a grand scale, reveals the heartbreak she endured as a wife four times over in vastly different, dramatic marriages.
Marjorie Merriweather Post was a woman whose hand stitched the fabric of so many cornerstones of American life. From Post Cereal to Birdseye Frozen Foods to Trump's infamous Mar-a-Lago Club, Marjorie Post had a hand in them all. She was truly a remarkably extraordinary woman ... and a rich one. Amassing a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, Marjorie was once considered the richest woman in America. But just how did she come into her considerable wealth?
Allison Pataki delves into the life of Marjorie Post in her aptly-titled biographical fiction novel, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. In this captivating tome, Pataki explores the beginnings of the Post cereal food empire started by Marjorie's father C.W. Post, and its later expansion as General Foods under the stewardship of Marjorie, her father's only heir. Through Post/General Foods, Marjorie would come to acquire many brands, including Birdseye Frozen Foods, which Marjorie insisted on taking under her wing, despite the doubts of others, to give harried housewives the convenience of cooking easy-to-prepare, yet nutritious meals. Through Marjorie's innovation and shrewd thinking, she created a name for herself as a prominent woman both in business and society, ever outshining the seemingly powerful men by her side.
As much as The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post shines a light on Marjorie's immense success in the food industry, it also gives great insight into her four marriages and subsequent divorces. Pataki explores how the men in Marjorie's life handled - quite badly - being married to such a strong-minded, successful woman. Pataki's fictional story of Marjorie's life is a fascinating exploration into how brilliant women of yore were forced to yield and come second to their husbands due to the laws of the time. Although Post Foods and all of its success was held in Marjorie's hands, she couldn't even sit on the board of her own company, nor have many of her well-earned possessions in her name.
Pataki's novel had me utterly captivated throughout, teaching me so much about the incredible Marjorie Post. I knew not who she was before reading this novel, but I have since discovered that Marjorie played an immense role in our country's history, paving the way for women in business, and demonstrating that women can be successful in their own right. My only gripe with this easy-to-follow novel is that Pataki framed Marjorie's story around her marriages, using these four men as the focal points of her book. While Marjorie's four husbands did play a significant role in her life, I found Marjorie's business dealings and acquisitions to be of more interest than her relationships with men dreadfully bitter about their wife's success. A success they benefitted from immensely, I might add.
Highly recommended to fans of biographical fiction!
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
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