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THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER
Soon to be an Apple TV series starring Brie Larson

‘Sparky, rip-roaring, funny’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘The most charming, life-enhancing novel I’ve read in ages’ INDIA KNIGHT, Book of the Year
‘I loved it’ NIGELLA LAWSON
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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.
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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

As read on BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime
A BBC TV Between-the-Covers pick
THE #1 Sunday Times, #1 New York Times and #1 International bestseller
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Best Debut Novel Award
India Knight’s SUNDAY TIMES Book of the Year
Shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize
Author of the Year at the British Book Awards
Winner of the Paul Torday Prize

A Book of the Year for: Guardian, Times, Sunday Times, Good Housekeeping, Woman & Home, Stylist, TLS, Oprah Daily, Newsweek, Mail on Sunday, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Evening Standard, New York Times, India Knight, Hay Festival and many others

Publisher Review

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 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 * 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 * 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 * 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 * 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 * Fast, funny and furious * DAILY EXPRESS * This incredible novel has EVERYTHING - an unforgettable heroine, wry humour, love, family and bucketloads of optimism and female empowerment. It's WONDERFUL * HANNAH BECKERMAN * Read it because... 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, which is why it had to be on our best books 2022 list * WOMAN AND HOME * A fabulous novel. Compelling, satisfying, a real page-turner * NINA STIBBE * 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 * 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 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 * A truly unique book with some great life lessons * WOMAN AND HOME, BEST BOOKS OF 2022 *