Lessons in Chemistry (2022)

Lessons in Chemistry is a novel by Bonnie Garmus. Published by Doubleday in April 2022, it is Garmus's debut novel. It tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, who becomes a beloved cooking show host in 1960s Southern California after being fired as a chemist four years earlier. It was adapted into an Apple TV+ miniseries that debuted on October 13, 2023.

Inception

Garmus told People magazine that she wrote Lessons in Chemistry after her previous novel was rejected by 98 publishers because it was "too long". The book was originally called "Introduction to Chemistry", but was later renamed by the author's agent, Felicity Blunt. It was published a few days before the author turned 65 in 2022.

The book was inspired by Garmus's experience as a creative director in an advertising agency, in particular after a frustrating meeting where a male co-worker took credit for one of her ideas. While writing Lessons in Chemistry, Garmus was a full-time copywriter but taught herself some school-level chemistry, attempting experiments from The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments. She said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: "The fire department had to come twice for the amount of flames in my flat". She also adapted her own interest in rowing as a hobby of the protagonist, Zott. Aside from rowing, Garmus said that she does not share other commonalities with Zott, but has instead written her "role model".

Synopsis

After being sexually assaulted and refusing to apologize for stabbing her rapist, Elizabeth Zott is expelled from her doctoral program. She then gets a job at Hastings Research Institute, working as a Lab Technician in a chemistry laboratory. She meets fellow Hastings researcher Calvin Evans while taking surplus beakers from his lab. Evans assumes that she is a secretary and ignores her. They later encounter each other at a theater, and Evans, experiencing an allergic reaction to another woman's perfume, vomits on Zott. They start dating and living together shortly after.

Evans proposes in the staff dining room, but Zott rejects him, citing concerns that as her husband Evans would be given credit for all of her work. A month later, Zott adopts an abandoned explosive detection dog and names him Six-Thirty as that is the time he initially follows her home. Evans convinces Zott to take up rowing, and Zott starts training her dog.

Due to a local law, Zott buys a leash for Six-Thirty. The leash indirectly causes Evans's skull to be fractured in a fatal accident. Zott later finds herself pregnant with his child, which leads to her being fired from Hastings. She decides to continue her research by converting her kitchen into a lab, obtaining income by providing research advice to former colleagues in return for compensation. During this, Six-Thirty starts communicating and teaching her unborn child words. Zott seeks support for her pregnancy with Dr. Mason, who used to row with her. Months later, she gives birth to Madeline. Afterwards, Harriet Sloane, her neighbor, comes to offer support.

Three years later, Zott decides to enroll Madeline in kindergarten early, modifying her birth certificate to do so. Because of financial difficulties, Zott attempts to return to Hastings. The head of the chemistry department, Dr. Donatti, approves her hiring but refuses to give her anything more than menial labor as a lab technician. During an argument with her coworker, Miss Frask, Zott discovers that Frask had been sexually assaulted by a thesis advisor, an experience they share which stopped them both from obtaining their PhDs. Frask is subsequently fired for gaining weight. Before leaving, Frask gives Zott a set of research files that had once belonged to Evans.

Two months after returning to Hastings, Donatti plagiarizes Zott's work. She confronts him and resigns. At home, Zott discovers that a classmate is eating Madeline's lunch. She goes to talk to the other girl's father, Walter Pine. Pine, a local television producer, offers her a job as a cooking show host due to her unique personality. During the debut, Zott ignores the cue cards Pine had written for her, which is met with disapproval.

Having been assigned a school project to make a family tree, Madeline searches for Evans's orphanage. She meets Reverend Wakely during the project who recalls that he was pen pals with Evans during college and promises to call the orphanage for her and to look for its mysterious donor. At work, Zott is called in to the executive producer, Phil Lebensmal's office. Lebensmal fires her citing her rebellious attitude, then attempts to sexually assault her. She draws a kitchen knife and Lebensmal has a heart attack. Zott calls an ambulance and, while waiting, discovers syndication and sponsorship offers not revealed to Pine. Lebensmal does not return to work, making Pine the executive producer.

After turning down multiple magazine interview offers, Zott accepts Franklin Roth's interview for Life. Roth writes a positive article, which is rejected multiple times. His editor publishes a modified one with a negative tone and excessive personal details. Prior to publication, Roth leaves an envelope with the unpublished original at Zott's doorstep. Madeline takes it and gives it to Frask, who is working as Wakely's secretary, and Frask reads it. Wakely comes to Zott's residence to speak to Madeline after the article's publication and gives Zott Roth's original article. Frask and others write to the editors of the magazine in protest and Harriet submits the original article to several other magazines, leading to its publication weeks later in Vogue.