It Girl by Allison Pataki

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Evelyn knows what it means to be hungry. Having experienced the death of her beloved father and her family’s subsequent plummet into poverty despite her mother’s best efforts, much has fallen onto Evelyn’s shoulders at a very young age. Even scrounging in the back of a local restaurant for scraps of food for her and her younger brother is nothing she is not familiar with. At the age of 13, she is brought into Wanamaker’s Department Store to work alongside her mother in order to make ends meet, in spite of her ardent wish to continue in school like her peers. It is here she is discovered by an artist, who sees in Evelyn something she could never have imagined for herself.

This novel is based loosely on the life of Evelyn Nesbit, thought of as the first supermodel, Broadway actress and Hollywood starlet who is known to have come from very humble beginnings. And while much of the story of this fictional Evelyn’s aligns with that of the real one, there is also an inner strength that is developed in the fictional character that we can only guess at with the real one. This Evelyn, our heroine, is used and misused by artists, by various older men, and even by her own mother. She is so young and innocent that she is taken advantage of by so many it is painful to witness. But at some point, she becomes so justifiably outraged, that she develops a plan of escape that is quite brilliant. We are rooting for her all the way.

We also see how so many of the female characters whom one would have hoped would have been supportive of her truly abandon her. Because of her beauty, many are jealous, and many perceive her as being either entitled or spoiled or even evil because of what she’s had to do to survive. Even those she’d thought of as her good friends quickly turn on her when she can no longer advance their status. Even her own mother abandons her when she feels she has made mistakes that might cost them the financial gains they’ve made, turning a blind eye to what her own daughter actually needs. It is disappointingly realistic. Fortunately, however, she does have a few true friends, ones who deeply care for her and worry about her welfare. These are the true heroes.

This is an engaging story, mirroring the life of a female legend. Certainly a worthwhile read!

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Marjorie Post, daughter of the famous CW Post ,had a modest beginning. We meet her as she begins her trip to Battle Creek, MI, in the family’s quest to heal her ailing father. He’d been wasting from a severe depression and sought out the famed Dr. Kellog, to see if he might benefit from the diet, exercise, and fresh air treatment he was known to prescribe. Little did they know that the one who would heal him and be the most inspiring for him was their family’s hostess, who rented the rooms to Marjorie and her mother while CW received his tasteless treatments. She cooked him healthful meals and nursed him with her spiritual inspirations, enabling his soul to be revived. What lay ahead, both for CW and for Marjorie, was a growth of spirit and of creativity that would open their worlds to both unimaginable successes and tragic failures.

This historical fiction is based on the truly impressive and accomplished life of Marjorie Post, daughter of the famed CW Post, inventor of the breakfast cereal – Grape Nuts being the first! – and the founder of the General Foods Empire. Marjorie grew the business, creatively adding their many other types of foods and related products, finding ways in which to make a mother’s life more convenient, and hoping to provide nutritious foods to more families at a reasonable cost. She had an acute business acumen and would not give up on an idea once it worked its way into her brain, and she risked her reputation, her business, even her personal relationships when she knew she was onto something that might help others.

For this she paid a price, most often in her personal life, as many took advantage of her generous nature. Whether it was in her relationships- and she collected a few – or the press, who delighted in using her personal scandals as fodder for their gossip columns. But her true joy was her daughters, her work, and her volunteerism, which she threw herself into with gusto.

A little tidbit I learned from this also: she is the one who built the 126-roomed Mar-a-Lago. I have to confess, I had a hard time being excited to hear about the planning of its layout and the decoration of its rooms knowing who would be its future occupant, but I swallowed it in the name of history and fiction. I went with the spirit of the book. Marjorie was generous with her money, gave to many causes and was all in when times were rough for her country (unlike its current occupant) She was inspiring, actually (again, unlike the current occupant!).

If you are interested in historical fiction and want to know more about this very impressive woman, take a few days to peruse this novel. You’ll meet a lot of famous people, suffer a few heartbreaks along with her, and bask in her successes along with her as well.