The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post: A Novel

The Many Lives of Marjorie Post is Allison Pataki’s ninth novel. Published in 2022, it tells a fictionalized version of the life of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the real-world philanthropist, host, businessperson, and political actor, from her earliest beginnings through her death in 1973.

Pataki’s primary focus has been historical fiction, and her other books include The Traitor’s Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America (2014), The Accidental Empress (2015), Sisi, Empress on Her Own (2016), Where the Light Falls: A Novel of the French Revolution (2018) with her brother Owen Pataki, and The Queen’s Fortune: A Novel of Desire, Napoleon, and the Dynasty (2020). She has also written two novels for young readers and a memoir. Several of her novels have been New York Times bestsellers.

This guide refers to the 2022 digital edition published by Ballantine Books.

Content Warning: This novel features a brief mention of death by suicide.

Plot Summary

The Prologue is set at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, where Marjorie Merriweather Post is welcoming President Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson into her home. She thinks about how, over the course of her life, she has changed so many lives.

Part 1 flashes back to 1891 in Battle Creek, Michigan. Marjorie’s father, C. W. Post, is ill and receives treatment from Dr. John Kellogg at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. They rent rooms from a widow named Elizabeth Gregory, who does not agree with Dr. Kellogg’s limitations, since he does not allow patients to eat food outside of the hospital. When Dr. Kellogg’s treatments seem hopeless, Charles William starts eating Mrs. Gregory’s meals and he and his wife Ella also begin following her religion, becoming Christian Scientists. The Posts believe that their faith has led to Charles William’s recovery, and that it also protects Marjorie when she becomes ill and then feels better.

Charles William starts the Post Cereal Company; Grape-Nuts and Postum (an alternative to coffee) are his bestsellers. He quickly becomes wealthy, and he and Marjorie move to Washington, DC. There, Marjorie goes to school; one summer break, she meets Edward Close in Connecticut. They have a whirlwind romance, and Ed proposes. They marry at the end of the school year, and Marjorie is surprised to discover that her newfound wealth has brought her life into the public eye. Charles William marries his secretary, having divorced his wife.

Marjorie takes over the home she and her father build in Connecticut, but she feels isolated and stuck in her husband’s old-money world. Ed starts drinking regularly. Soon after, Marjorie gives birth to their daughter Adelaide and within a year she is pregnant with their daughter Eleanor.

By 1914, both of Marjorie’s parents have passed away, and Marjorie has to fight her father’s last wife for her inheritance. Ultimately, she inherits his company.

Part 2 takes place during and after WWI. Ed serves on the Post Cereal Company board of directors in Marjorie’s stead since she is a woman. Marjorie, however, consults as the company struggles during the war. After Ed is drafted, Marjorie gets involved in the war effort by donating materials to the Red Cross. She also becomes a suffragist, much to Ed’s chagrin. When he returns, they divorce.

In 1919, Marjorie meets and quickly marries Edward “Ned” Hutton. He serves as chairperson of Post Cereal Company, and she continues to invest in charitable campaigns, often hosting benefits and fundraisers. She also gives birth to their daughter Nedenia “Deenie” Hutton. Business booms, and Marjorie suggests acquiring Birdseye Frozen Foods. Ned disagrees, but Marjorie completes the deal behind his back. They change the company name to General Foods.

Ned grows resentful about having given up his job to run Marjorie’s family’s company, so Marjorie tries to save the marriage by building a new home, which she calls Mar-a-Lago. During the Great Depression, Marjorie and Ned open public kitchens to help those in need. Eventually, Marjorie discovers that Ned has been cheating on her, and they divorce.

Part 3 begins with a meeting between Marjorie and Joe Davies. He divorces his wife soon after, and he and Marjorie get married. Joe is an ambassador, so they move to Washington, DC. There, Marjorie is ignored by the social elite who see her as breaking up Joe’s first marriage. Soon Joe is sent to the Soviet Union. There, Marjorie commits to turning their drab embassy residence into an appropriate space for hosting, seeing her role as helping foster a relationship with Soviet Leaders. When the USSR premier gives them coats to gift to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, it seems that they have succeeded. However, Russia initially sides with Germany at the start of WWII. Ill health requires that Joe and Marjorie return to the United States. Joe is quickly reassigned to Belgium and Luxembourg.

When the war ends, Joe is bitter about wielding less political power; he has lost status after the death of FDR, his main booster. When Joe chastises Marjorie at one of their party, calling her a “phony” (328), she leaves him.

Part 4 begins at the end of the 1950s. Marjorie celebrates the Fourth of July in 1957 in her new home, which she designed according to her preferences and tastes, not having to take a husband into consideration. She makes large donations to music programs, schools, and other charitable organizations and is celebrated by her friends.

She meets Herbert May at a luncheon, and they marry; all is seemingly set to go well since they are both already independently wealthy. However, the day after her birthday in 1962, she receives a package containing photos of Herb naked and surrounded by young men. They part.

The narrative ends by returning to the scene of the Prologue: the 1968 reception for Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson. When Marjorie offers the government Mar-a-Lago, the president explains how complicated it is to donate land, but agrees to consider it. She also gives away her other estates, and her primary home is set to become a museum after her death. In 1973, Marjorie Merriweather Post passes away.