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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Marjorie Merriweather Post had a fascinating life. This book was written almost as an autobiography of it (with fictional conversations and touches). The book dragged on a bit towards the end, but I found myself sharing so many parts of it as it went along. I definitely have to visit her old home, Hillwood, in DC soon!
I learned things I never knew about! Now to get to Washington DC to see that museum and all!
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
4.5/5 stars. I can’t believe I out this one off for months! The narration was perfect. Sort of long but once I got invested I couldn’t put it down. I learned a lot too, which is always a bonus for fiction!
The historical novels that I like best teach you something about an interesting life that you might never have known about without reading the book, and this fits the bill exactly.
Would definitely be good for book groups.
Would definitely be good for book groups.
Before reading this book, I didn’t know anything about Marjorie Merriweather Post. She lived a fascinating life! She seems to have been in all the most influential crowds of her day. I wanted to know more about the work she did and less about her many husbands. It was a long, descriptive book, but I enjoyed looking up pictures of her, her family, and her beautiful estates. I also enjoyed this as an audiobook. This book got me back into historical fiction kick!
Interesting story about Marjorie Post beginning when she was a little girl and spanning her entire life. She was an amazing person and I really enjoyed learning about her.
I really enjoyed this one. 4.5 stars. This was my second book by the author. I do like her style and all the research she does.
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I was given an ARC of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki by NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I had never heard of Marjorie Post before seeing this book on a Goodreads giveaway. Then, after reading the blurb about her being the Post cereal heir who was known as much for her vast wealth as she was for her philanthropic efforts, I was intrigued and wanted to know more. This book did not disappoint. This is top-notch historical fiction writing.
The book follows Marjorie’s life from the time when she and her parents arrive in Battle Creek, Michigan so her father can take the healing efforts of Dr. Kellogg and his sanitorium. Kellogg has hundreds if not thousands of patients, and Marjorie’s father finds that his cures involving bland foods and something called breakfast cereal leave much to be desired. Through the care of the woman who runs the boarding house they are staying at, Majorie’s father, C.W., soon starts getting better.
When C.W. starts feeling better, he gets the idea to make breakfast easier for women, a more appealing cereal than the one Kellogg is pushing on his patients. The result is Grape Nuts, and it’s an instant success. Like, phenomenal success. Soon they’re insanely rich, so C.W. sends Majorie to school in near Washington, D.C. and builds a home there. In a few more years, he’s building a mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. And let’s not forget a home in New York City as well.
Without going into a blow-by-blow description of her four marriages, Marjorie meets her first husband when she’s just about to graduate (at age 16), and her husband is a Knickerbocker, one of the oldest and wealthiest families of New York, one of the famed 400 group of snooty, old money that turns down their nose at new money. But times are changing. The Vanderbilts busted their way into society, and that means Marjorie is acceptable to the old crowd. Ed Close, a Columbia law student, is smitten with her. As soon as Marjorie graduates, they get married and her father gifts her the mansion in Greenwich.
But ultimately the marriage doesn’t work though they do have two daughters, Marjorie’s father dies leaving her the heir of the Post empire, but because she’s a woman, she can’t actually help run the company. She’s got more money than she knows what to do with, and World War I leads Marjorie to philanthropic work, helping found a portable hospital on the Western front.
With her second husband, Ned, Marjorie suggests the expansion of Post cereals. Soon they’re acquiring Jell-O, Hellman’s mayonnaise and more. So they rebrand and become General Foods. They even invest in the new frozen foods market with the acquisition of Birdseye. The money keeps pouring in. They build houses in the Adirondacks, buy a 300-foot yacht, and begin building an estate in Palm Beach called Mar-A-Lago. Yes, the very same. Marjorie has another daughter, does more philanthropic work, and eventually finds herself in the same boat as before–filing for divorce.
The Great Depression hits, but because people still need to eat, General Foods and it’s profits are unmarred by the economic collapse across the globe. Marjorie meets Joe, who’s got the ear of President Franklin Roosevelt, and it’s expected he’ll be offered an ambassadorship. After courting for a while, they decide to get married, but there’s one problem: Joe’s married, but separated for years from his wife, who is currently living in London. So he asks for a divorce, and Washington society turns it’s back on Marjorie, calling her a homewrecker (Joe’s wife spent years in Washington making the rounds as a charming society hostess) and refusing to invite her to social functions and refusing her invites.
Finally, Joe’s ambassadorship comes through, but it’s not to London or Paris as he expected. It’s Moscow. Knowing how the country has been run since the revolution that killed Czar Nicholas and his family, Marjorie packs 30 trunks, 50 suitcases, and tons of food. The residence they live in needs major renovation, and since that’s something Marjorie is very good at, she soon whips the ambassador’s house is ready for guests.
Through their time in Russia, Marjorie is able to acquire countless treasures that used to belong to the Czar’s family, dating back to Catherine the Great, including Faberge’ treasures, paintings, jewels and more. But ill health forces Joe and Marjorie back to the United States for a short time. When they return to Russia, things are icier with their contacts. Soon, Joe is recalled to Washington and hears that Russia has made a deal with Germany. And the president wants to send him to Luxembourg. Eventually Russia gets screwed over by Hitler and joins the Allies, and we all know how the war ends.
As with her previous two marriages, this one begins to crumble, too, so she files for divorce. But it isn’t long before she meets husband #4, who turns out to be the biggest loser of them all. Marjorie contents herself to realize she may be unlucky in love, but she certainly is not unlucky in life. She’s the richest woman in the United States, with homes all over the country filled with precious treasures, good relationships with her daughters (for a movie buff like me, it was interesting to find out that actress Dina Merrill was her daughter–I always thought she should have had a bigger career than what she had), and tons of philanthropic efforts both named and unnamed.
Obviously, I thought this book was a big hit. The only complaint I had was in one or two sections regarding Franklin Roosevelt, who was said to have walked in with Eleanor with some difficulty. While FDR could “walk” short distances with braces and leaning heavily on a strong man like a serviceman or his son, James, there’s no way FDR walked into a room and mingled with is wife. I thought this was common knowledge. I know that while FDR was living, he went to great lengths, and the press cooperated, with not letting people know that he was in fact paralyzed, but in 2022, to let people think that. I thought the oversight ruined an overall fantastic book.
I was given an ARC of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki by NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I had never heard of Marjorie Post before seeing this book on a Goodreads giveaway. Then, after reading the blurb about her being the Post cereal heir who was known as much for her vast wealth as she was for her philanthropic efforts, I was intrigued and wanted to know more. This book did not disappoint. This is top-notch historical fiction writing.
The book follows Marjorie’s life from the time when she and her parents arrive in Battle Creek, Michigan so her father can take the healing efforts of Dr. Kellogg and his sanitorium. Kellogg has hundreds if not thousands of patients, and Marjorie’s father finds that his cures involving bland foods and something called breakfast cereal leave much to be desired. Through the care of the woman who runs the boarding house they are staying at, Majorie’s father, C.W., soon starts getting better.
When C.W. starts feeling better, he gets the idea to make breakfast easier for women, a more appealing cereal than the one Kellogg is pushing on his patients. The result is Grape Nuts, and it’s an instant success. Like, phenomenal success. Soon they’re insanely rich, so C.W. sends Majorie to school in near Washington, D.C. and builds a home there. In a few more years, he’s building a mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. And let’s not forget a home in New York City as well.
Without going into a blow-by-blow description of her four marriages, Marjorie meets her first husband when she’s just about to graduate (at age 16), and her husband is a Knickerbocker, one of the oldest and wealthiest families of New York, one of the famed 400 group of snooty, old money that turns down their nose at new money. But times are changing. The Vanderbilts busted their way into society, and that means Marjorie is acceptable to the old crowd. Ed Close, a Columbia law student, is smitten with her. As soon as Marjorie graduates, they get married and her father gifts her the mansion in Greenwich.
But ultimately the marriage doesn’t work though they do have two daughters, Marjorie’s father dies leaving her the heir of the Post empire, but because she’s a woman, she can’t actually help run the company. She’s got more money than she knows what to do with, and World War I leads Marjorie to philanthropic work, helping found a portable hospital on the Western front.
With her second husband, Ned, Marjorie suggests the expansion of Post cereals. Soon they’re acquiring Jell-O, Hellman’s mayonnaise and more. So they rebrand and become General Foods. They even invest in the new frozen foods market with the acquisition of Birdseye. The money keeps pouring in. They build houses in the Adirondacks, buy a 300-foot yacht, and begin building an estate in Palm Beach called Mar-A-Lago. Yes, the very same. Marjorie has another daughter, does more philanthropic work, and eventually finds herself in the same boat as before–filing for divorce.
The Great Depression hits, but because people still need to eat, General Foods and it’s profits are unmarred by the economic collapse across the globe. Marjorie meets Joe, who’s got the ear of President Franklin Roosevelt, and it’s expected he’ll be offered an ambassadorship. After courting for a while, they decide to get married, but there’s one problem: Joe’s married, but separated for years from his wife, who is currently living in London. So he asks for a divorce, and Washington society turns it’s back on Marjorie, calling her a homewrecker (Joe’s wife spent years in Washington making the rounds as a charming society hostess) and refusing to invite her to social functions and refusing her invites.
Finally, Joe’s ambassadorship comes through, but it’s not to London or Paris as he expected. It’s Moscow. Knowing how the country has been run since the revolution that killed Czar Nicholas and his family, Marjorie packs 30 trunks, 50 suitcases, and tons of food. The residence they live in needs major renovation, and since that’s something Marjorie is very good at, she soon whips the ambassador’s house is ready for guests.
Through their time in Russia, Marjorie is able to acquire countless treasures that used to belong to the Czar’s family, dating back to Catherine the Great, including Faberge’ treasures, paintings, jewels and more. But ill health forces Joe and Marjorie back to the United States for a short time. When they return to Russia, things are icier with their contacts. Soon, Joe is recalled to Washington and hears that Russia has made a deal with Germany. And the president wants to send him to Luxembourg. Eventually Russia gets screwed over by Hitler and joins the Allies, and we all know how the war ends.
As with her previous two marriages, this one begins to crumble, too, so she files for divorce. But it isn’t long before she meets husband #4, who turns out to be the biggest loser of them all. Marjorie contents herself to realize she may be unlucky in love, but she certainly is not unlucky in life. She’s the richest woman in the United States, with homes all over the country filled with precious treasures, good relationships with her daughters (for a movie buff like me, it was interesting to find out that actress Dina Merrill was her daughter–I always thought she should have had a bigger career than what she had), and tons of philanthropic efforts both named and unnamed.
Obviously, I thought this book was a big hit. The only complaint I had was in one or two sections regarding Franklin Roosevelt, who was said to have walked in with Eleanor with some difficulty. While FDR could “walk” short distances with braces and leaning heavily on a strong man like a serviceman or his son, James, there’s no way FDR walked into a room and mingled with is wife. I thought this was common knowledge. I know that while FDR was living, he went to great lengths, and the press cooperated, with not letting people know that he was in fact paralyzed, but in 2022, to let people think that. I thought the oversight ruined an overall fantastic book.