Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show

Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters,

Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

Published
April 5, 2022
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Author

Bonnie Garmus

Bonnie Garmus is a writer whose words invite readers into worlds that are as captivating as they are unconventional. With a background that spans both the sciences and the arts, she draws on her diverse experiences to craft stories that are rich in humor, wit, and heart. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, made an immediate splash, quickly becoming a global phenomenon for its sharp prose, clever characterizations, and a protagonist who defies the expectations of her time. Garmus' writing brims with the same wit and originality that characterize her own life. A lover of storytelling in all forms, she spent years in the advertising world…