Buying Options
Kindle Price: | £9.99 |
Sold by: | Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. This price was set by the publisher. |

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

![Lessons in Chemistry: The No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick by [Bonnie Garmus]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41VmC5H4+wL._SY346_.jpg)
Lessons in Chemistry: The No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick Kindle Edition
Bonnie Garmus (Author) See search results for this author |
Amazon Price | New from | Used from |
Audible Audiobooks, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
£0.00
| Free with your Audible trial |
THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE
OBSERVER'S 'TEN DEBUT NOVELISTS OF 2022'
A STEVE WRIGHT BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB CHOICE
'Sparky, rip-roaring, funny, with big-hearted fully formed, loveable characters' SUNDAY TIMES
'The most charming, life-enhancing novel I've read in ages. Strongly recommend' INDIA KNIGHT
'Laugh-out-loud funny and brimming with life, generosity and courage' RACHEL JOYCE
'A novel that sparks joy with every page' ELIZABETH DAY
____________
Your ability to change everything - including yourself - starts here
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.
But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take 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.
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.
__________
SOON TO BE A MAJOR APPLE TV SERIAL, STARRING BRIE LARSON
'I loved Lessons in Chemistry and am devastated to have finished it!' NIGELLA LAWSON
'Elizabeth Zott is an iconic heroine - a feminist who refuses to be quashed, a mother who believes that her child is a person to behold, rather than to mould, and who will leave you, and the lens through which you see the world, quite changed' PANDORA SYKES
'It's the world versus Elizabeth Zott, and I had no trouble choosing a side. A page-turning and highly satisfying tale: zippy, zesty, and Zotty' MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD, author of GREAT CIRCLE
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTransworld Digital
- Publication date5 April 2022
- File size2040 KB
Product description
Review
"In Garmus's debut novel, a frustrated chemist finds herself at the helm of a cooking show that sparks a revolution. Welcome to the 1960s, where a woman's arsenal of tools was often limited to the kitchen--and where Elizabeth Zott is hellbent on overturning the status quo one meal at a time."
--New York Times
Strikingly relevant...Darkly funny and poignant...Lessons in Chemistry's excellent experiment [is] quirky and heartwarming.
--The Atlantic
[Garmus] delivers an assured voice, an indelible heroine and relatable love stories...At the center of the novel is Elizabeth Zott, a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention...Elizabeth is a feminist and modern thinker [...] in a world nowhere ready for her mind, character or ambition...[Garmus] charm[s]. She's created an indelible assemblage of stubborn, idiosyncratic characters. She's given us a comic novel at precisely the moment we crave one."
--Washington Post
"Feminism is the catalyst that makes [Lessons in Chemistry] fizz like hydrochloric acid on limestone. Elizabeth Zott does not have 'moxie'; she has courage. She is not a 'girl boss' or a 'lady chemist'; she's a groundbreaker and an expert in abiogenesis...To file Elizabeth Zott among the pink razors of the book world is to miss the sharpness of Garmus's message. Lessons in Chemistry will make you wonder about all the real-life women born ahead of their time--women who were sidelined, ignored and worse because they weren't as resourceful, determined and lucky as Elizabeth Zott. She's a reminder of how far we've come, but also how far we still have to go."
--New York Times Book Review
"Between the outrageous sexism and the bitter misfortune that thwart our heroine at every turn, this may not sound like a comic novel, but it is. Full of charm, energy and hope--and featuring a really great dog--it's one to savor."
--People Magazine
"A kicky debut, this book tackles feminism, resilience, and rationalism in a fun and refreshing way."
--BuzzFeed
It's the world versus Elizabeth Zott, an extraordinary woman determined to live on her own terms, and I had no trouble choosing a side. Lessons in Chemistry is a page-turning and highly satisfying tale: zippy, zesty, and Zotty.
--Maggie Shipstead, author of Great Circle
Lessons in Chemistry is a breath of fresh air--a witty, propulsive, and refreshingly hopeful novel populated with singular characters. This book is an utter delight--wry, warm, and compulsively readable.
--Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
On par with Beth Harmon of The Queen's Gambit, Elizabeth Zott swept me away with her intellect, honesty, and unapologetic selfhood. Lessons in Chemistry is a story for all the smart girls who refuse to dumb themselves down despite a culture that demands otherwise. Though a creation of the 50s & 60s, Zott is a feminist icon for our time.
--Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch
"A fun, feminist charmer, Bonnie Garmus's novel Lessons in Chemistry follows singular single mother Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist in a man's world--1960s America--as she becomes an unlikely cooking-show host and the role model her daughter deserves."
--Martha Stewart Living
"[A] delightful debut...Elizabeth Zott, Garmus' unflappable heroine, is no cheerily lilting [Julia] Child...[Garmus] skillfully moves her narrative forward and backward, filling in the empty spaces in Elizabeth's story. It's a novel full of dark moments...and yet Lessons in Chemistry feels richly funny...Elizabeth Zott is a unique heroine, and you find yourself wishing she wasn't fictional: A lot of us--perhaps even Julia Child--might have enjoyed watching 'Supper at Six.'"
--The Seattle Times
"Lessons in Chemistry catalyzes science, cooking, and humor...Elizabeth [Zott]--determined, practical, uncompromising--shines brightest."
--Christian Science Monitor
"[Garmus] presents a rollicking feminist tale full of humor and hope even as she doesn't shy away from life's ugliness. Clever and sharp, Lessons in Chemistry has a winning formula."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune
A bold, smart, and often hilarious look at the value of so-called women's work.
--Real Simple
"Garmus tells a familiar story in a completely original voice in her delightful debut novel...Zott is an unforgettable protagonist, logical and literal and utterly herself...The novel deftly mixes comedy and tragedy, with only one very clear villain: the patriarchal culture of mid-20th century America, the days of which are numbered because of women like Zott...For those who admire a confident, bone-dry, and hilarious authorial voice, this novel achieves the difficult task of being both sharply satirical and heartwarming at the same time."
--Historical Novels Review
"If you can imagine Julia Child channeling a little bit of Lucille Ball, and all of the science edginess of Madame Curie, then you'll have a really good idea of the humor and the wit and the warmth that just shine through this entire novel."
--Minnesota Public Radio News
I loved it and am devastated to have finished it.
--Nigella Lawson, author of Cook, Eat, Repeat
"Garmus' writing is extraordinary, and her insightful commentaries on life, religion, bigotry, misogyny and stupidity result in passages that are absolutely worth sharing...Be prepared to laugh, grieve, and root for Elizabeth.
--BookReporter
"[An] energetic debut...A more adorable plea for rationalism and gender equality would be hard to find."
--Kirkus (starred review)
Indefatigable and formidable, Elizabeth pushes the bounds of how women and their work are perceived in this thoroughly engaging debut novel.
--Booklist
Like a woman-centric "Mad Men"...A witty and sharp dramedy about resilience and found families...Readers won't be able to get enough of Elizabeth and her makeshift family. Lessons in Chemistry is a story to return to again and again."
--BookPage
"While the novel focuses on serious themes of misogyny, feminism, family, and self-worth, it never gets didactic. The characters are rich and original, the story sarcastic and humorous, and the novel with all its twists and turns, difficult to put down. Zott is aloof and amazing, rational and revolutionary. Like Garmus, you may even find yourself channeling Elizabeth, asking 'Now what would Elizabeth Zott do?'"
--LA Daily News
A smart, funny, big-hearted debut combining chemical elements into what seems a winning formula--one whose breakneck pace and gently ironic tone should appeal to readers of literary-commercial hits by American authors such as Katherine Heiny, Emma Straub and Curtis Sittenfeld.
--Sunday Times (UK)
Elizabeth Zott is the smart, fierce star of Garmus's witty debut...Brilliant.
--Mail on Sunday(UK)
The enchanting story of Elizabeth Zott never belittles the offence of sexism, but neither - miraculously - does it ever take you more than a few sentences away from a smile, a chuckle, or a laugh out loud. Bonnie Garmus' gift is to expose the sting and injustice of being a woman in a man's world with a feather light touch that keeps our spirits buoyant and our hearts strong. I honestly don't know how she does it. This is a remarkable book by a remarkable writer.
--Jo Browning Roe, author of A Terrible Kindness
A fabulous novel. Compelling, satisfying, a real page-turner.
--Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to Be Cheerful
to Zach Greenwald at Workman
About the Author
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take 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.
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.
Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Product details
- ASIN : B099JC5HQK
- Publisher : Transworld Digital (5 April 2022)
- Language : English
- File size : 2040 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 392 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 61 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer reviews:
About the author

Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who has worked for a wide range of clients, in the US and abroad, focusing primarily on technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2022
Top reviews from United Kingdom
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Elizabeth Zott is a Chemist in the 1960’s, the only problem is that everyone else sees her as everything but that! Her male colleagues won’t take her seriously and see her as nothing but a woman who has ideas above her station. Although they are all threatened by her greatness and are more than happy to steal her work. All apart from Calvin Evans who is also a chemist and known for his greatness in the field of science. Calvin never looks down on Elizabeth and they start a relationship that would have beautifully stood the test of time.
Unfortunately life doesn’t always go to plan and Elizabeth finds herself alone and as a single mother. She finds herself presenting a tv show called Supper at Six, she uses this as her platform to give ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ to the women of America who she knows are meant to be doing greater things than being typecast as a wife and mother - she empowers them to do great things with their lives.
From the first to the very last word of this book I was hooked. Elizabeth Zott is an absolute legend of a main character, I was rooting for her throughout the whole story. This book is fiction, but it had me pondering on more than one occasion what it must have been like to be a woman at this time, I’m so glad that women like Elizabeth Zott make it possible for me to have the life and freedom that I have today.
Elizabeth is a very serious character, a bit like her story but it is told with comedic moments that did have me laughing out loud, especially how her daughter Mad got her name. She is such an endearing leading lady that you would love to have someone like her stood in your corner as your mother, aunt, sibling or best friend.
If you’re after a book that will leave your heart full, then look no further than this absolute masterpiece of a debut from Bonnie Garmus.
Highly recommended.
Oh and if you're a writer that enters the first 500 word novel competitions, take a look at how this author does it... what a masterclass.
And there’s more denigration. Elizabeth is in television where apparently women also have subsidiary demeaning roles - no acknowledgement of the real women front and back of the camera cue Lucille Ball, Julia Child and pioneering female producers just the unique Elizabeth. Of course Elizabeth is a dedicated feminist! She also has progressive attitudes on race - she even references Rosa Parks on air for goodness sake - so in this novel set in 1960s America how many people of colour appear? Well Rosa Parks gets a mention! Then apparently in 1960s California there is no questioning of religion (except of course by the exceptional Elizabeth) so when exactly was the famous Time magazine cover IS GOD DEAD?
The point about this book is IT IS NOT FEMINIST it is ANTI-FEMINIST as it ignores all the real women who went before Elizabeth or were there at the same time in order to tell us that only an exceptionally beautiful woman with a genius daughter (oh what a surprise that is) would have achieved anything at that time.
I can’t help wondering how many of the five star reviews come from people who weren’t around at the time and couldn’t be bothered to look up what it was really like - yes it was hard for women then and it still is today in many ways so don’t belittle the contributions real women (women not always from the white relatively privileged world) made in order to present an unrealistic comic ‘heroine’.