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    • Home
    • About Roswell Reads
      • Roswell Reads History
      • Steering Committee
      • FORL
    • Author Events
      • Fredrik Backman
      • Jennifer Coburn
      • Ron Rash
      • Charles Frazier
      • William Kent Krueger
      • Past Events
  • Home
  • About Roswell Reads
    • Roswell Reads History
    • Steering Committee
    • FORL
  • Author Events
    • Fredrik Backman
    • Jennifer Coburn
    • Ron Rash
    • Charles Frazier
    • William Kent Krueger
    • Past Events

Synopsis

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 doesn’t always follow a straight line. 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. That’s because 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.  

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 doesn’t always follow a straight line. 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. That’s because 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.

About the Author

Bonnie Garmus

Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who has worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.

Book Discussion Questions

1. What is your overall impression of Elizabeth Zott as a protagonist? Why was chemistry the right career choice for her?


2. Elizabeth enters a male-dominated field and it’s a constant uphill battle. Have you ever worked in a field like that and/or been in a similar situation? Could you relate to what Elizabeth went through?


3. What did you think about the eventual romance between Elizabeth and Calvin? Why were they a good fit, full of “true chemistry?” 

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