Lessons in Chemistry

In this laugh out loud funny novel, Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist who just wants to do her research, but it's the 1960s and none of the men in her field quite know what to do with this determined woman, so mostly they attempt to ruin her. Except for Calvin Evans, the renowned but awkward chemist who is as dazzled by her mind as her beauty. He wants to marry her, which she refuses on the basis it will destroy what small career she has been able to carve out for herself. Within a year, Calvin is gone, Elizabeth has had his child, she has been fired, she has become a TV cooking show phenomenon, and she is as far from her dream to be left alone to do chemistry as she possibly could be. And people and one incredibly perceptive dog keep attaching themselves to her. Is chemistry all there is, or might there be more for Elizabeth? Linda and Nancy discuss this book, its zany characters, and sexism in the 1960s.