55 pages • 1-hour read
The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post: A Novel
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Background
Historical Context: Post Cereal Company/General Foods
The main character of this novel, Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973), was a real-life person—the daughter of Charles William (CW) Post, who founded Post Cereal Company in 1885. This company was the root of Marjorie’s wealth and ultimately provided for her success and her family’s comfort during several challenging times in American history, including the Great Depression. C. W. Post started Post Cereal Company after receiving treatment from Dr. John Kellogg in Battle Creek, Michigan—Kellogg himself also ran a rival cereal company with his brother, the eponymous Kellogg’s. The novel portrays Charles William starting his company to bring healthy foods and easy-to-serve meals to families.
Post Cereal’s original main products were Grape-Nuts, a cereal, and Postum, an alternative to coffee. However, after Charles William’s death, the company expanded beyond breakfast, acquiring brands like Jell-O and Maxwell House. When Marjorie advocated for the acquisition of Birds Eye, a frozen food company, she popularized the idea of frozen meals that cut down on preparation time, revolutionizing the food industry. After picking up Birds Eye, Post Cereal Company became General Foods, which was then acquired by the Altria Group in 1985 and then merged with Kraft Foods in 1987.
In The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, Marjorie’s interactions with Post Cereal Company and later General Foods portray her as involved in and innovating her father’s business. She’s depicted as a major figure in the business, particularly when it comes to adapting to the moment and finding new ways to grow.
Cultural Context: The Role of Women in the Early 20th Century
Marjorie’s life spans from the late 19th century well into the 20th, so throughout the novel, she contends with and benefits from the changing role of women in the United States. When the novel opens and during her first marriage to Edward Close from 1905 to 1919, like most women, Marjorie is relegated to the household, as women of that time were expected to be chiefly in charge of the domestic sphere. Marjorie, who is wealthy enough to have servants, directs household staff and also enjoys social activities with women of similar wealth and class.
Marjorie’s involvement with the suffragist movement rankles her husband’s conservative views because the idea that women should be allowed to vote implies that women should have other citizenship rights that men do. The movement’s rise to popularity aligns with the breakout of World War I, a time when women suddenly have the opportunity to take on more public roles. The novel does not directly mention the passage in 1920 of the 19th Amendment, which enshrined women’s right to vote in the US Constitution—a political act that was largely the result of the efforts of a coalition of Black, working-class, and wealthy women like Marjorie.
In the middle of the 20th century, Marjorie is able to serve on the board of her father’s company, a role previously reserved for her husband as representative of the Post family due to Marjorie’s gender. However, she is still not allowed to be explicitly consulted, a fact referenced several times by family friends still involved with Post Cereal Company and later General Foods. While many women are re-relegated to the household in the wake of World War II, Marjorie refuses, staying on the board.
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