Lessons in Chemistry

Learn about a few of the major characters from Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

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Lessons in Chemistry is getting TV treatment with a new Apple TV+ series based on the book. Learn more about it here.

Take this quiz, inspired by ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ to find out which element you are most like.

Tune into Radio National on Saturday 17 June and Sunday 18 June.

Congratulations to the winners!

We caught up with Bonnie Garmus after a whirlwind year of success with her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry.

Find the perfect book based on the blooms she already loves.

Winners will be announced on 25 May 2023.

These are the Penguin Random House books that over 48,000 book clubs voted as the best group reads this March.

Whip up a Zott-style pavlova to celebrate the new paperback edition of Lessons in Chemistry.

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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is packed full of wisdom. Check out five of the many inspirational quotes from the book.

A Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick.

We all need a little help choosing our next read sometimes. This time, we've got you sorted!

Bonnie Garmus was seething when she got back to her desk after a work meeting. It was then she began writing Lessons in Chemistry.

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. 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. Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott. Buy now: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/lessons-in-chemistry-9780857528131

These female characters are brave, stand up for their beliefs and aren't afraid to break the status quo. 

The blockbuster of 2022, set in 1960s California, introducing the unique and unforgettable Elizabeth Zott. Elizabeth is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott. A single mother, and the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.