I’ve had Bonnie Garmus’ book Lessons in Chemistry for about six months. I’ve started it — it’s an easy and intriguing read, but spending as much time as I do reading and writing daily with my own articles and publications, I often turn to film instead for good storytelling in my off time. So I was really happy to learn that her book was adapted into a 12-hour, eight-part Apple TV+ series.
Lessons in Chemistry is a funny, fearlessly feminist historical novel about chemist Elizabeth Zott, a woman who is thoroughly unmoved by the repressive standards of her time. In the 1950s, a woman’s dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that says women belong only in the domestic sphere. She accepts a job on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives way more than recipes.
The character of Elizabeth is loosely based off another famous chemist, Rosalind Franklin, for her early years. Like Franklin, Elizabeth struggled with sexism and not being taken seriously, and ultimately, having her research into DNA stolen with the thieves taking all the credit.
I loved the multi-leveled characters in the film and eventually getting to know some backstories—Elizabeth’s childhood added unexpected depth.
Several situations in the series were left dangling and I found myself wanting to know more and to stay in Elizabeth’s world a while longer. Luckily I’ve still got the book to read.
