American Empress

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This entrancing biography of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973)-socialite, businesswoman, Palm Beach, Fla., pacesetter, opulent Washington hostess, philanthropist-is full of high drama, gossip, scandal and international political intrigue. Her father, C.W. (Charles William) Post, cured of ``invalidism'' at the Battle Creek, Mich., sanatorium of Dr. John Kellogg (inventor of packaged breakfast cereal), went on to develop Postum, a coffee substitute, and Post Toasties cereal. When C.W. killed himself in 1914, Marjorie, his only child, became sole heir of the Postum Cereal Co. With her sexually unfaithful second husband, stockbroker E.F. Hutton, Postum acquired Clarence Birdseye's frozen foods company, General Foods, which, partly through Post's influence as a board member, diversified into a food empire. Her third husband, Washington lobbyist Joseph Davies, became FDR's ambassador to the Soviet Union and helped cement the Soviet-U.S. alliance against Hitler. While living in Russia, Post was appalled at the Soviet police state. She divorced fourth husband Herbert May, a Pittsburgh executive, after a blackmailer's photographers revealed his homosexuality. Rubin, a frequent contributor to the New York Times, limns a warm, generous Christian Scientist, an imperious, perfectionist mother of three daughters, a down-to-earth woman who held square-dance parties and peppered her speech with expletives. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Town & Country. (Jan.)

Library Journal

Rubin (Isabella of Castile, LJ 10/15/91) here delivers a sympathetic yet balanced biography of one of the 20th century's wealthiest women. Post inherited her fortune at the age of 27 from her father, C.W. Post, an early leader in the dry cereals industry. Her event-filled life, which included four marriages and dealings with many of the world's business and political leaders, was characterized both by generosity and extravagance. By contemporary standards, the role she played in shaping the development of General Foods seems less than extraordinary but was progressive by the standards of her day. Rubin successfully portrays the many facets of Post's life (philanthropist, socialite, mother, wife) and the high-society world in which she lived. A work with general appeal; recommended for popular history and business collections.-Mark McCullough, Heterick Lib., Ohio Northern Univ., Ada

Donna Seaman

Marjorie Post came "as close to royalty as you can come in America," says Rubin, and her spellbinding portrait of this munificent, intelligent, elegant, and independent woman substantiates her claim. But before anyone can begin to understand the American Empress, they must learn about her father, the brilliant Christian Scientist entrepreneur, C. W. Post. A high-strung man with digestive ailments, C. W. came to Battle Creek, Michigan, for the Kellogg cure but ended up inventing a coffee substitute, Postum, and building an empire, a success story based in great part on his revolutionary use of national advertising. As his fortune grew, C. W. realized that his only child, the tall, statuesque, and beautiful Marjorie, was poised to inherit an estate of enormous value. Aware how vulnerable this asset would make her, C. W. bucked the trends of the times and made sure Marjorie understood the business and could hold her own in the corporate realm. Thus Marjorie had it all: an unquenchable appetite for luxury and the taste and looks to carry it off, a strong philanthropic streak, and enough business acumen to protect her fortune through four marriages, including her union with the love of her life (after her incomparable father), E. F. Hutton. The older she got, the more confident and innovative Post became, ultimately helping countless people through her philanthropic organizations as well as playing a key role in establishing a cultural life in the nation's capital.

From The Critics

"This entrancing biography of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973)— socialite, businesswoman, Palm Beach, Fla. pacesetter, opulent Washington hostess, philanthropist—is full of high drama, gossip, scandal and international political intrigue....Mrs. Rubin...limns a warm, generous Christian Scientist, an imperious perfectionsist mother of three daughters, a down-to-earth woman who held square-dance parties and peppered her speach with expletives."
—American Empress, 12/30/1899

Elaine Kendall

“A Vibrant Tribute to an Enchanting Lady...The biography is not only a tribute to one of the century’s great ladies, but a fascinating social history of American life from 1887 when Marjorie Post was born, to 1973 when she died at the age of 86...Resilient, optimistic, and marvelously genuine, Marjories Merriweather Post seems entitled to every accolade in this vibrant and thoughtful biography.”
—American Empress, 12/30/1899

pauline Mayer

"She was rich and famous, and did it very well....it is refreshing to read of a woman who handled both enormous wealth and personal traumas with dignity, who dwelt in extravagant opulence, but gave with extravagant generosity. No poor little rich girl, Marjorie Merriweather Post. Hers was a truly rich life."
—American Empress, 12/30/1899