Is ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ based on a true story? Here’s What We Know

Summary

• Lessons in Chemistry is not based on a true story. It is inspired by the struggles faced by an entire generation of women in the 1960s.
• Bonnie Garmus was inspired by her mother’s story and her own struggles while writing the book.

Lessons in Chemistry, the latest miniseries on Apple TV+, explores several real-life issues women faced in the 1960s. The series is based on Bonnie Garmus’ best-selling novel about a woman’s journey through the conservative society in the 1960s.

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist who loses her job as a lab tech and must find a way to sustain herself and her daughter, Mad. She takes up a new job as a cooking show host for a show called Supper at Six. Through her show, she decides to teach homemakers (mostly women) watching her more than just daily recipes.

Lessons in Chemistry isn’t based on a true story. However, the story is inspired by many events from the author’s personal life and experiences. It also deals with real-life issues and addresses relevant concerns.

1. What is the plot of Lessons in Chemistry?

Lessons in Chemistry is an eight-episode miniseries focusing on Elizabeth Zott, a chemist-turned-cooking show host. She takes up a job as a cooking show host for a show called Supper at Six after losing her job as a lab tech.

Elizabeth loses her job because she’s pregnant, which indicates workplace discrimination towards women for such reasons in the 1960s. Menstruation, pregnancy, and other issues that solely affect women were some of the grounds on which women were discriminated against.

However, Elizabeth does not lose hope and continues to struggle as a single mother. Through her show, she tries to influence other women watching her to take their destinies into their own hands.

The series also portrays Elizabeth’s relationship with fellow scientist Calvin. The two fall in love and decide to get married, although they agree on not having kids.

Unfortunately, Calvin dies in an accident before officially marrying Elizabeth. At this point, Elizabeth is already pregnant and must bring up her child alone.

2. What is Lessons in Chemistry based on?

Lessons in Chemistry is a fictional tale, although the author was inspired by her mother’s story while writing the book. Bonnie Garmus’s mother worked as a nurse in the 1960s before she became a housewife.

In a previous interview with The Guardian, Bonnie Garmus talked about what inspired her to write Elizabeth Zott’s story. Here’s what she said:

“Actually, I had my mother’s entire generation in mind when I wrote the book. My mother didn’t inspire Elizabeth Zott; instead, I created Elizabeth Zott in honor of her and all the other women whose dreams were sidelined by a society insisting they were incapable of becoming anything more than an “average housewife”. My mother had been a nurse before having us four kids. She talked about it constantly and obviously missed it. When we were all grown, she renewed her nursing license and returned to work, winning nurse of the year even though she’d been out of the workforce for decades. She was also an expert seamstress – would have made a great surgeon.”

Garmus explains that she was inspired by her mother’s generation of women who were more often than not reduced to being mere housewives.

Although Elizabeth’s character is not directly inspired by her mother, she is a tribute to all those women who faced such hardships and fought for their dreams.

Moreover, Garmus’s first novel was rejected 98 times before Lessons in Chemistry hit it off the park. Therefore, she could also relate to Elizabeth’s struggles as a scientist.

3. About Lessons in Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry is a drama television series based on the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmus. It is due to debut in 2023 on Apple TV+.

A female scientist in the 1960s begins using a cooking show she is hired to host to educate housewives on scientific topics after she is fired from her own lab.

The show stars Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott, Lewis Pullman as Calvin Evans, Aja Naomi King as Harriet Slone, Stephanie Koenig as Fran Frask and Patrick Walker as Wakely in lead roles.