Lessons in Chemistry: The modern classic multi-million-copy bestseller

Name: Lessons in Chemistry: The modern classic multi-million-copy bestseller
Rating: 4.6515679359436035 (287 reviews)

Bonnie Garmus

Apr 2022 · Random House

287 reviews

Ebook

416

Pages

Eligible

Switch to the audiobook

About this ebook

NOW INCLUDING AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT OF BONNIE GARMUS'S NEW NOVEL PECK & PECK

OVER 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE

'I am devastated to have finished it' NIGELLA LAWSON

Meet Elizabeth Zott. Scientist. Trailblazer. Rule-breaker.

The multi-award-winning international bestseller.
_______

There is no such thing as an average woman. Especially not Elizabeth Zott.

It's the early 1960s, and Elizabeth is a brilliant chemist working in a world that believes science is a man's job.

At Hastings Research Institute, the only colleague who truly recognises her extraordinary mind is Calvin Evans, a brilliant, Nobel Prize-nominated chemist. But life has other plans.

When Elizabeth becomes the reluctant star of America's most popular cooking show, Supper at Six, she refuses to tell women simply how to cook. Instead, she teaches them to question the rules, trust themselves and change their lives.

As millions tune in, Elizabeth is no longer demonstrating recipes. She is challenging the status quo, one molecule at a time.

Perfect for readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Remarkably Bright Creatures and The Wedding People - an unforgettable novel about love, resilience and the courage to rewrite the rules

________

A New York Times Top 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Reader's Pick

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Debut Novel

Winner of the Books Are My Bag Reader's Choice Award

British Book Awards Author of the Year

Waterstones Author of the Year

Readers love Lessons in Chemistry:

'Everyone needs to read this.'

'The best book I have read this year. Funny, warm and utterly unique.'

'Funny, honest and heart-wrenching. I was hooked until the very end.'

**Cover may vary**

NOW INCLUDING AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT OF BONNIE GARMUS'S NEW NOVEL PECK & PECK OVER 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE 'I am devastated to have finished it' NIGELLA LAWSON Meet Elizabeth Zott. Scientist. Trailblazer. Rule-breaker. The multi-award-winning international bestseller. _______ There is no su...

Discover more

Ratings and reviews

287 reviews

Neha Rai

December 30, 2025

i felt the book was nice and did try to transport us back to the intended era. I just felt the central character of Elizabeth Zott could have been more humane and not that of an over achiever who always was confident. Even the strongest people have their moments of weakness. This character seems to have practically no moments of weakness. Perhaps it will do better as a movie than a book. The writing style was very engaging

Laura Castelijn

December 15, 2023

I found this book frustrating because of the lack of growth of the main female lead, overall unbalanced character strengths, and absence of diversity in perspectives. She is never wrong, always knows the truth about life, is excellent at everything, and, of course, attractive. Although I love how the author has characters relating to each other for each scene, other than 1 or 2 characters, there seems to be little personal rather than just philosophical or perhaps scientific growth, depending on your point of view. Her cooking show has her being super respectful towards homemakers, but that doesn't make sense for her character, who doesn't understand women who are housewives. I found the book's representation of children and bullying frustrating

Lorraine Clarke

April 22, 2024

DNF this book, I stopped at the first few chapters. While I empathise with the sexism. that she faced in the STEM field, the protagonist Elizabeth is an incredibly annoying know-it-all and unlikeable person. Calvin is no better. I don't know if it's deliberate for the sake of character development or not.

About the author

BONNIE GARMUS is the author of Lessons in Chemistry, a number-one global bestseller and winner of several national and international awards, including Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year, Hay Festival’s Book of the Year, Goodreads Choice Award Debut of the Year, British Book Awards Author of the Year, Waterstones Author of the Year, Books are My Bag Author of the Year Award and Readers’ Choice Award, Germany and Australia’s Booksellers Book of the Year, and many more. It was on the New York Times, Sunday Times and Der Spiegel bestseller lists for nearly two years. Currently published in over forty-two territories, it has sold over eight million copies. Her new novel, PECK AND PECK, will be published in hardback this autumn.

BONNIE GARMUS is the author of Lessons in Chemistry, a number-one global bestseller and winner of several national and international awards, including Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year, Hay Festival’s Book of the Year, Goodreads Choice Award Debut of the Year, British Book Awards Author of the Ye...

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets

Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.

Laptops and computers

You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.

eReaders and other devices

To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.

Flag as inappropriate