Lessons in Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry (2022) is a best-selling novel by Bonnie Garmus about women’s lives, careers, and struggle for empowerment in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who has worked in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. Lessons in Chemistry is her first novel and became a national bestseller upon publication. Through Elizabeth’s story, the book explores issues of sexism in the workplace, the circumscription of women’s ambitions, motherhood, and the meaning of family. This guide is based on the Transworld (Penguin Random House) Kindle edition.

Note: This guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the c-word.

Content Warning: This book and study guide mention suicide, sexual assault, and anti-gay bias.

Plot Summary

In November 1961, a depressed Elizabeth Zott packs her daughter Madeline’s school lunch before heading to work: she is the star of a nationally beloved cooking show, Supper at Six. Supper at Six was born after Elizabeth stormed into the KCTV television studio to complain to Walter Pine that his daughter, Amanda, had been stealing Madeline’s lunches. Stunned by Elizabeth’s intelligence, beauty, and superior cooking skills, Walter suggested the idea of the cooking show to Elizabeth, who reluctantly accepted.