Lessons in Chemistry

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist–not an easy profession for a woman in the 1960s. As she battles daily discrimination, she finds some measure of contentment with Calvin Evans, a famous chemist whose quirks pair well with her own. When tragedy strikes, Elizabeth is left a single mother, kicked out of the lab, and desperate. Circumstances land her on camera, teaching the chemistry of cooking and captivating the country.
Overly progressive characters in historical fiction sometimes ring false, but Elizabeth Zott is singular and wonderfully drawn. Her precocious daughter and clever dog only add to the charm. The cover may make you think this is a rom-com, but the romance is only part of the story. I loved this.
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Publisher’s Description
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 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.
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.