Description

Discover the must-read Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, the perfect uplifting summer read, now a major Apple TV series starring Brie Larson.

‘The most charming, life-enhancing novel I’ve read in ages’ Sunday Times

‘A page-turning and highly satisfying tale’ – Maggie Shipstead, author of Great Circle

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Your ability to change everything – including yourself – starts here

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, she 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.

Forced to leave her job at the institute, she soon finds herself the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six.

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. One molecule at a time.
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A Book of the Year for:
Guardian, Times, Sunday Times, New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Woman & Home, Stylist, TLS Oprah Daily, Newsweek, Mail on Sunday, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, India Knight, Hay Festival, Waterstones, Amazon, Books are My Bag and many more!

Author of the Year at the British Book Awards
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Best Debut Novel Award
Winner of the Books are My Bag Reader’s Choice Award
Winner of the Books are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award
Shortlisted for the HWA Crown Award

Praise for Lessons in Chemistry:

‘Full of humour, heartbreak and characters who feel like real people’ Red Magazine

‘Thought-provoking and stylish’ Guardian

‘Laugh-out-loud funny and brimming with life, generosity and courage’ Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

‘I loved Lessons in Chemistry and am devastated to have finished it!’ Nigella Lawson

‘A novel that sparks joy with every page’ Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie

‘Witty and sometimes hilarious … the Catch-22 of early feminism’ Stephen King

‘A beautiful, sharp, funny and dark modern classic. I adored it’ Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End

Sunday Times bestseller, February 2024
Lessons in Chemistry has sold over 6 million copies worldwide across all formats, The Guardian, December 2023

Publisher Review

The most charming, life-enhancing novel I’ve read in ages. A perfect delight. It’s about Elizabeth Zott, a scientist who accidentally becomes a TV cook in the early 1960s. Very strongly recommend * INDIA KNIGHT, SUNDAY TIMES * This triumphant feminist fable, wittily observed, is teeming with vivid comic set-pieces * TELEGRAPH, Fiction of the Week * Polished, funny, thought-provoking. Wearing its research lightly but confidently with sentences so stylishly turned it’s hard to believe it’s a debut … The real pleasure is in the dry wit of Garmus’s writing * GUARDIAN, Book of the day * Not only is Elizabeth an unforgettable character, so too are her adorable dog Six Thirty and daughter, Mad. This is a truly unique book with some great life lessons * WOMAN AND HOME, Best Books of 2022 * A book that sparks joy with every page. LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY is both funny and rousing: it had me laughing one minute and air-punching the next. Bonnie Garmus has created an unforgettable heroine * ELIZABETH DAY * 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 * Full of humour heartbreak and characters who feel like real people. This is a book that everyone will be talking about * RED MAGAZINE * I haven’t loved a character as much as the hero of this joyful, warm debut in a very long time * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Book of the Month * Absolutely unputdownable. I completely loved it * RICHARD E GRANT * A transporting read, recommended for fans of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel * STYLIST MAGAZINE, BOOKS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2022 * In Garmus’ 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 * A fast-moving plot, zippy dialogue and wry sense of humour. A satisfying story with hateable villains and loveable good guys. Garmus’s sparkling writing is a breath of fresh air * SUNDAY EXPRESS * Elizabeth Zott is the smart, fierce star of Garmus’ witty debut. Brilliant * MAIL ON SUNDAY * Lessons in Chemistry is a vibrant and original story of hope and staying true to yourself. Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and brimming with life and generosity and courage * RACHEL JOYCE * A timeless book. 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 * THE antidote to life’s current grimness: a shrewd, witty, inventive, feminist comedy you should all race to read * PATRICK GALE * Original and refreshing. Elizabeth Zott is one of those singular, unforgettable characters you don’t come across enough in fiction. Witty and dark, it is both a breath of fresh air and a reminder of how much still has to change for true equality * PRESS ASSOCIATION * Zott is a brilliantly realised character whom it’s impossible not to love…[a] warm and addictive novel which cleverly and entertainingly unpacks the thorny questions around women’s empowerment, the need to be true to oneself and why we should refuse to accept the limitations others try to impose on us. A triumph * DAILY MAIL * Smart, funny, big-hearted * SUNDAY TIMES * A fabulous novel. Compelling, satisfying, a real page-turner * NINA STIBBE * Witty, inspiring and a joy * I-NEWSPAPER * 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 * A proper page turner which really made me giggle. It’s so dry. The humour has a gorgeous lightness of touch. I really enjoyed it * STEVE WRIGHT, BBC RADIO TWO BOOK CLUB * Original, fresh, tender, funny and warm. The story dances and swirls, captivating the reader from the first page. Elizabeth Zott is the most wonderful character. Just fantastic * SINEAD MORIARTY * Strikingly relevant. . . Darkly funny and poignant. . . Lessons in Chemistry’s excellent experiment is quirky and heartwarming * THE ATLANTIC * A funny, thought-provoking revenge story. Elizabeth Zott is ahead of her time. This is such a great book, everyone should read it! * SHAPARAK KHORSANDI * Garmus has made feminism not just palpable, but delicious * I-NEWS * 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 truly involving and uplifting book! Bonnie Garmus addresses serious topics with humour that is genuinely funny. I especially liked the dog. Mine only appears to know one word, which is ‘supper’, but there again she is a Labrador. I’m sure this is going to be a great success, and deserves to be * ANNE YOUNGSON, Costa Book Award-shortlisted author of MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM * This incredible novel has EVERYTHING – an unforgettable heroine, wry humour, love, family and bucketloads of optimism and female empowerment. It’s WONDERFUL * HANNAH BECKERMAN * An energetic debut … A more adorable plea for rationalism and gender equality would be hard to find * KIRKUS (starred review) * Bold, smart and often hilarious look at so-called women’s work * REAL SIMPLE, US * 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. A story to return to again and again * BOOKPAGE * Charming and emboldening tale with a vintage sheen… A thoroughly entertaining and emboldened look at gender in the 1960s. A must read! * MAGIC RADIO, BOOK CLUB READ * Garmus delivers an assured voice, an indelible heroine and relatable love stories * WASHINGTON POST * Elizabeth is a woman who challenges the norms of a woman in the 60s…her perseverance to succeed is enthralling. The fight to do what she really wants, and that alone, is one that’ll have you rooting for her throughout * STYLIST * 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 familes. Readers won’t be able to get enough of Elizabeth and her makeshift family. A story to return to again and again * BOOKPAGE * A kicky debut, this book tackles feminism, resilience, and rationalism in a fun and refreshing way * BUZZFEED * Every bit as brilliant as everyone is saying. Funny, clever, full of heart and wonderful characters. I loved it * A J PEARCE * An absolute delight. Zott is a cracking protagonist – strikingly single-minded, socially awkward, fiercely determined to forge her own path * FINANCIAL TIMES, Best Audio Books * Witty, fast-paced and unabashedly amusing’ Lessons in Chemistry is ‘written with charm, verve and piercing insight … a future classic * LITERARY REVIEW * The best book I’ve read recently. I loved it * SARA COX, BBC 2 Between the Covers * I loved it. You don’t want to finish it. You don’t want to put it down. It’s wonderful to hear a voice that has total honesty and clarity. I love that Elizabeth Zott is funny and hasn’t got a clue that she’s funny * DEBORAH MEADEN, BBC 2 BETWEEN THE COVERS * I loved everything about it. There were so many things I could relate to * STEPHEN BAILEY, BBC 2 BETWEEN THE COVERS * i couldn’t put it down. It was so easy to read: hilarious, heartfelt. With all of the issues that we are still dealing with right now. Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure * SUKH OJLA * Laugh-aloud funny, witty and provocative, LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY recreates the rampant sexism of America just before Betty Friedan’s THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE and the bonfire of the bras * THE TIMES, audiobook of the week * A funny, big-hearted read * THE TIMES, Summer Reading Choice * I adored this confident, witty portrait of an unforgettable woman and her time * DAILY MAIL, Summer reading recommendations * One of the smartest and funniest novels to appear this year * THE NEW EUROPEAN * We guarantee you will love this charming debut * HELLO MAGAZINE * This smart, uproarious, emotional page-turner…has been the year’s runaway hit. Rightly so * SUNDAY TIMES, Books of the Year * Irresistible, a gorgeous tribute to resilience and the many types of love that sustain us * OPRAH DAILY * Sharp and deliciously readable. Brings bite as well as charm to the tale of a super-rational scientist navigating sexism in early 60s America. * GUARDIAN, Books of the Year * The idiosyncratic wit of this year’s blockbuster debut is instantly appealing, but it’s also a narrative with real bite. Uplifting and irresistibly zany * THE MAIL, Books of the Year * I fell for Elizabeth Zott immediately. A wonderfully entertaining and empowering read * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Books of the Year * A wonderful novel – polished, pacy, funny, witty, warm, life-affirming, and thought-provoking * SUNDAY MAIL, SCOTLAND * Enchanting, clever, funny and packed with deeply engaging characters. I still think about it a lot * INDIA KNIGHT’s Book of the Year, SUNDAY TIMES * Witty, sometimes hilarious, angry, and often surreal. It’s the CATCH-22 of early feminism. * STEPHEN KING *