Review will be posted on 2/4/22

C.W. Post makes a fortune for his family when he invents cereals, such as Grape-Nuts. His family goes from living an average life to becoming very wealthy and this changes his only child, Marjorie, greatly. She attends a very good boarding school and brushes shoulders with influential people. However, she watches her parents' marriage falls apart and this breaks her heart. Some of the changes coming from this are good, but many are difficult for her. As she gets older, she helps turn her father's company into General Foods, yes the General Foods, and impacts the way Americans eat. Cue frozen food! But Marjorie wants to be more than just a wife. She has plans. She not only wants to help run her father's company, but she also wants to contribute to society. And that she does! Whether she was building a new hospital, a soup kitchen, or donating her yacht to war efforts, she was always a wonderful philanthropist throughout the many years of her life. That's not to say she didn't like to indulge. She had priceless jewels and she built Mar-a-Lago! The one thing she never could seem to do was to secure a happy marriage though. Allison Pataki's latest novel, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post is a compelling and interesting glimpse into a woman who deserves to be remembered.

I was familiar with Post cereal, but I knew nothing about the Post family. The story opens with C.W. attending a sort of health retreat by none other than the Kellogg family, which made me raise my eyebrow. That's where he gets his inspiration for his "health food." He tweaks the cereals and --boom-- he is the mastermind behind the food revolution that changed American breakfasts. C.W. suffered from stomach issues his whole life and some of the cereals and health drinks he invented apparently helped him. However, C.W. isn't perfect and has an affair. This impacts Marjorie greatly. It takes her awhile to bounce back from this betrayal to her mother, and then C.W.'s life ends tragically and unexpectedly. Marjorie finds herself as sole heiress.

Marjorie fights for the company from C.W.'s second wife and once she gains the rights, the rest is history in The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. She came up with the idea to buy Birdseye Frozen Foods, as well as other food companies like Jell-o, and call her "new" company General Foods. These acquisitions makes her company even more successful. I also appreciated her philanthropic spirit. She was always helping America out with the war, building hospitals, soup kitchens, fundraising, and so much more. I respected her so much for that. Even at the end of her life, she wanted to donate Mar-a-Lago to the government as a Winter White House. If only she could see what it's being used for now.

Marjorie also lived an interesting life when it came to her opportunities through marriage. One of her husband's was the ambassador to the Soviet Union, so this proved to be very interesting. Living in the Soviet Union was difficult, but Marjorie wanted to do her part for America. While there, she came across some amazing Russian antiques and paintings for sale that she was able to purchase they ended up being on display in her Washington D.C. mansion. She had to deal with traveling from the Soviet Union and the threat of u-boats, war breaking out, and so much more upheaval at the start of World War II. Lastly, Marjorie was quite a host and her parties were well-known. She entertained royalty, presidents, and so many influential people. I couldn't believe she built Mar-a-Lago. How did I not know this? One would think her life was all rainbows and sunshine, but her love life was a disaster.

She married many times and I don't want to give anything away, but each marriage was worse than the one before in The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. I would have given up years ago, but I think Marjorie was a romantic at heart and also she maybe had trust issues from how her father handled himself, not to mention many men were intimidated by show much she was worth. It just goes to show you, you really can't have it all; however, she did get three beautiful daughters out of her marriages.

I found Marjorie's life to be so very entertaining in The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. I loved learning more about this new-to-me woman and I couldn't believe more people don't talk about her life and her contributions. If you love books about strong women, I encourage you to pick up The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post.

So, are you a fan of Allison Pataki? Have you read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post? Is it on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments below.

I came to "The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post" with virtually no knowledge of who Marjorie was or what made her life so magnificent. I left this book feeling as though I traveled an entire lifetime with a new best friend. Allison Pataki is a beautiful writer, immersing you from page one into Marjorie's world.

It's a bold choice to write historical fiction from a first person perspective, particularly a person whose life shapeshifts again and again as she grows, but Allison guides us masterfully from one iteration to another. Marjorie could have lived in her father's shadow - certainly C.W. Post, creator of Grape Nuts and Post Foods cast a large enough one. Yet, this is a story of a woman who grabs on to every moment of her life, from heiress to society wife to international influencer to philantropist, and proudly thrusts herself into the light.

Before I read this, I truly had no idea who Marjorie Merriweather Post was. What a fascinating life she led! I found this story so interesting, from the early days of Kellogg vs Post to the many celebrities she encountered. I looked up so many of the references and learned so much.

Before starting this book, I did not know anything about Marjorie Post. Through reading this book I learned plenty! The Post empire (cereal and General Foods) has quite a history lesson! Her father was a sickly man who recovered, and her mother was a depressed woman who succumbed to heartbreak. Marjorie's life was interesting to say the least! 4 husbands, bundles of money and children to raise...she preserved through it all! I was amazed by her accomplishments and her humbleness, very pleased to learn about her many efforts to start hospitals and feed the hungry. The author did a fantastic job writing about Marjorie’s life from her childhood, travel, her homes, marriages, children, and everything in between. Thank you for my advanced copy of this book!

“Marjorie the Magnificent” was the moniker given to Marjorie Merriweather Post, only daughter and heir to the C.W. Post family fortune. Allison Pataki’s novel reads like Marjorie’s private journal; the blue-eyed dazzling beauty born in 1887, who reigned as “America’s Most Fabulous Hostess” until her death in 1973. Pataki highlights Marjorie’s determination, passion, and generosity in this four-part, first person retelling of the opportunities, decisions and influencers that had such a profound impact on Marjorie’s life experiences. From Battle Creek, Michigan, and the beginnings of Grape-Nuts and General Foods, to Washington D.C., Palm Beach, and ambassadress in Moscow; readers are treated to personal details and descriptions of Marjorie’s palatial residences filled with art and treasures from around the world, disastrous marriages, and her famous guests and friends from the world of politicians and celebrities. As C.W. Post introduced the world to cereal, Allison Pataki introduces the world to The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post.

History comes to life in the story of one fascinating woman. Loved this book from start to finish. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

Having loved Allison Pataki’s previous books, I eagerly anticipated this read. I had no knowledge of Marjorie Merriweather Post, but what a life she led. I was intrigued by her father’s trip to Battle Creek and his time “healing” at Kellogg’s wellness retreat. Loved how he was actually healed and his inspiration to create recipes for “healing foods”. I was clearly able to picture young Marjorie beside him applying labels and spending every minute with her beloved father.
As the Post company grew and grew I was incredulous reading about the Post family’s connections with everyone from politicians to scions of business. Then the acquisitions of other companies were so expansive and mind boggling to me, bringing back many childhood memories, especially Tang.
Her parent’s relationship clearly set the tone for her own relationships. Each time she seemed to jump into love so quickly which actually surprised me given the social mores of the time she lived. My heart broke for her with each failed relationship.
My favorite part was her time spent in Moscow as I have long been intrigued with Czar Nicolas and his family. The treasures described were amazing, especially given their provenance and where they were stored. I loved that she captured the hearts of the leaders in Moscow through her generosity and friendliness. I was hoping for a disclosure of the illness she suffered after returning home.
What an amazing woman - extremely wealthy and also aware of others not as fortunate as herself. Throughout her life she consistently reached out to help others. She was so savvy with her family’s business, sharing ideas that were pivotal to the company’s success and finally broke through the glass ceiling to become the director of General Foods. Loved that her staff throughout her many amazing homes, including Mar-a-Lago, thought so highly of her. She was truly a determined woman whom has earned my admiration and respect.
Many many thanks to Allison Pataki for so eloquently sharing Marjorie Merriweather Post’s incredible life, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the absolute pleasure of reading an arc of this gem. Any reader will be amazed and make so many connections as they read this peek into the life of Marjorie Merriweather Post. Don’t miss out of this read.

In quick summary, this was an enchanting book about a woman who easily could be called an American Princess. Raised as her father began C.W. Post company (think Grape Nuts), she watched as her family became wealthy beyond all dreams. However, this didn't protect Marjorie from everything life could throw at her. I wondered often how come no one ever considered a pre-nup and how she must have treated her husbands that wasn't included in this historical fiction. The other thought I had was of the conflicting presentation of her charitable nature and works. On one hand she opens hospitals and soup kitchens and on the other hand she complains about the upkeep of a yacht but sells it so buy an airplane. When she mentioned how she profited $22million in one year, I wondered what kind of pay was trickling down to the employees, her own personal ones and those at General Foods. I question her disconnect to the empire that gave her the ability to buy, build, renovate multi-million dollar homes on a recurring basis. This did hamper my acceptance of just how magnificent Marjorie Post might have been but still made for a wonderful read.

THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by best-selling author Allison Pataki begins in the late 1800s and spans roughly three-fourths of the twentieth century. Along the way, Pataki alludes to or describes much American history, including the founding and growth of the company that became General Foods. She portrays the lives of wealthy elites and their philanthropic gestures during two world wars in a story which centers on Marjorie Merriweather Post, a businesswoman and socialite. The beginning of this novel felt a bit slow, but it established young Marjorie's strong affinity with her father which seemed to influence her relationship with the other men in her life. Post was married four times – including to the financier founder of E. F. Hutton and later, to the US Ambassador to Russia in the 1930s. Thus, Post's "lives," her homes (she built Mar-a-Lago and other estates), and her legacy in promoting easy to make foods mirror some of the social changes that were underway. Book clubs will enjoy reading and discussing THE MAGNIFICENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Pataki several years ago just after her own story, Beauty in the Broken Places, was published. I highly recommend both titles.

I received a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review
I found this quite interesting, and I enjoyed it immensely.

" Bestselling and acclaimed author Allison Pataki has crafted an intimate portrait of a larger-than-life woman, a powerful story of one woman falling in love with her own voice and embracing her own power while shaping history in the process.."
A fascinating look into the life of Marjorie Post, heiress of the C,.W. Post Cereal Company that became a leader in the cereal industry. Pataki brings Marjorie Post to life with detailed research as we glimpse her life behind the scenes.
This one is a page turner and will keep you up past your bedtime reading.

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post is such a fabulous read, rich in history. I had such a good time learning more about the life and multiple marriages of Marjorie Merriweather Post. She truly did have a very interesting life as a socialite, business woman, and philanthropist. All of this in a time when women were not normally listened to in the business world and/or considered equal in a marriage.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a copy of this novel.

3.5* rounded up to 4

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book based on the title, cover and description, not knowing anything about Marjorie Post. It was indeed fascinating and interesting, but there were some parts that I lost interest like the ones set in Russia, and I thought it got a little long at the end. It's also a bit difficult to rate a book based on a real person's life because you feel like you are judging them. It wasn't a memoir or biography but historical fiction based on years of extensive research by the author. I found myself looking up several characters on Wikipedia throughout the book.

Marjorie is a cereal heiress to the Post cereal company, and one of the big takeaways from the book is that money doesn't always buy happiness. She had more money than she knew what to do with, but ended up divorced 4 times. I was surprised each time she jumped into a new relationship so quickly but admired her optimism. The amount of wealth described in this book is astounding and also casual at the same time. She owned so many homes throughout her life and had several servants so that she didn't need to lift a finger, so to speak. She did a lot of good with her money, donating it along with her time and worked with the Red Cross and other various charitable organizations. She lived through two world wars and was not able to serve on the board of her company as a woman, which is mind blowing given the recent setting of the book.

Overall an entertaining read, but it did take me a little longer to get through it than anticipated. It was like a fictitious trip through history.

"𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥."

When it comes to writing about extraordinary women in history, Allison Pataki is one of the best. (If you haven't read 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, you're missing out!) Her latest is one of my favorites of hers yet.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗡𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗝𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 tells the story of Post Cereal/General Foods heiress, Marjorie Merriweather Post. I was fascinated to learn how her father went from being on his death bed to creating a business that changed the way the world eats (he was one of the first to bring cereal to the masses), but Marjorie's contributions are equally remarkable.

Born in a time when little was expected of women other than getting married and having children, she was instrumental in the growth of her family's company - it was Marjorie who pursued manufacturing frozen foods which is a big part of why we all have refrigerators today - but she used her status as the wealthiest woman in America for more than just frivolity. She outfitted one of her yachts to serve as a floating hospital and funded field hospitals in France during the world wars, raised huge amounts of money for charities throughout the country, and spent years in the Soviet Union with her diplomat husband forging relationships that would be crucial in keeping Russia as an ally during WWII. Whether she was building Mar-a-Lago (yup, that was her too!) or advocating for women's rights, Marjorie Post never did anything halfway, and I'm so glad I got to know her through this wonderful book.

Thanks to Ballantine Books & NetGalley for the copy to review.

This book is so beautifully written. I feel in love with the story of Marjorie Post after seeing her on the show “The Foods that Built America” and how she bought Birdseye Frozen Foods when Americans didn’t even have freezers in their homes.

Marjorie Post is a woman who started with nothing and was truly a leader if industry, a philanthropist, a wonderful hostess and friend. Through the book we learn of her four marriages, her children and her love of a good party and how she look for opportunities when people saw challenges.

This book is a historical fiction but it is written from the voice of Marjorie Post almost as if she herself was telling her life’s story.

Anyone who loves historical fictions or wants to learn of the era of Kellogg, Rockefeller, Post and more of the titans of industry this is a book for you.

This is the first book I’ve read by Allison Pataki and I must say that she did an outstanding job chronicling the many lives of this accomplished woman! She takes us through so many periods of our nation’s history such as both World Wars and the Great Depression. Marjorie Post’s business sense was learned at an early age from her father as he started the Post Cereal Company in this barn. As the company acquired many smaller companies and built the General Foods Corporation, she never lost sight of the importance to help the less fortunate. She was a remarkable woman with a tremendous energy to lead through some very trying times. Her personal life was not as successful but her determination led her throughout her 86 years. Well researched and very well written makes this book a winner! #TheMagnificentLivesOfMarjoriePost #AllisonPataki #NetGalley

As a young girl, Marjorie Post traveled with her parents to Battle Creek, Michigan with a desperate hope that Dr. Kellogg could save her father. Although he could not, he did inspire C. W. Post to start a rival company that was successful beyond their dreams.

This factionalized biography traces Marjorie’s life from that trip to Battle Creek, through four marriages, and ends with her death. The story is framed by her husbands, and while that makes sense thematically, I would have preferred seeing her story through a different lens. However, what is clear is that she had tremendous business acumen and the time period and fact she was female probably prevented her from even greater success (for much of her life, she couldn’t even sit on the board of the company her father founded).

Although she was generous, her extravagance is still shocking. And learning more about the builder of Mar-a-Lago makes its current owner all the more appalling. Although I’ve focused on aspects of the book that could be improved, there is so much to like about the book. It is truly immersive and because Post lived through most major events of the twentieth century, it’s a mini history lesson. It was impossible to put down—the best sort of book. #TheMagnificentLivesofMarjoriePost #NetGalley

I wanted to love this so bad. However, I had a hard time reading this story. I struggled so much and unfortunately it became a DNF for me.

I was invited to read this by the publisher. I hesitated at first as I had a backlog of arcs to read and was not sure if i was interested. I am so glad i read it. Marjorie Post and her life is just fascinating. I stayed up late to keep reading. I had to know what happened next in her life. Although she was not very lucky in love she was charming and had a great business head. This was up there with Social Grace. If you like Fiona Davis you will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I KNOW I had heard of Marjorie Merriweather Post, and I remembered that Dina Merrill (who I adored as an actress) had a rich and famous mother, but I NEVER heard all these stories!! What a life! What a woman!

Marjorie's father's illness has all but bankrupted the family when they arrive in Battle Creek, Michigan to visit Dr. Kellog's famous spa. Searching for an illusive cure, CW Post finds his path to health in a most unexpected place. When he sets up a cereal company that soon rivals the Kellogg company, he is on his way to being a millionaire, and his daughter Marjorie is with him every step of the way - even helping to make the first batches of what will become Grape Nuts cereal, one of the best-known cereals in the world.

But her father's millions are not a guarantee of happiness. Despite the fact she is one of the richest women in the world, her taste in men and choices of husbands is terrible! She is married AND DIVORCED four times, each one a heartbreak, but she is triumphant in the end and looks back on a life well lived.

I fully enjoyed learning about this amazing American woman, who truly lived the American dream.