‘Mad Men’ Meets ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ in ‘Confessions of a Grammar Queen’ (Exclusive)

It all starts with a pair of pink pantyhose.

Bestselling author Eliza Knight’s new book, Confessions of a Grammar Queen (out now from Sourcebooks Landmark) has been described as perfect for fans of Mad Men and Lessons in Chemistry and PEOPLE has an exclusive sneak peek.

It’s 1963, and junior copyeditor Bernadette Swift has always put her life second to her punishing workload. But when she’s offered a spot in a feminist book club, she discovers a new ambition to run the publishing house alongside her female coworkers.

The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!

As the synopsis promises: “More scandalous books for the club; more time for her life (and a certain charming male colleague); more women’s equity marches; and certainly, more women’s voices in publishing.”

If you’re feeling fired up already, dive into an exclusive excerpt of Confessions of a Grammar Queen, below.

“I don’t want to make dinner every night. For once, I want to be served and serviced with a smile. My husband is such a bull, just riding over me.” Patty let out a frustrated huff. “I’d like to walk in the door, kick off my shoes, and pour an old-­fashioned with no other worries for the night.”

“I wish there was a birth control pill readily available,” Melanie burst out as if she’d been holding the words in and couldn’t stand it any longer. “Let’s be realistic. If I’m going to marry my guy, I want to make sure I’m not stifled in the O department. And I don’t want to get pregnant while I’m trying to figure it out. Nor do I want to depend on a condom.”

Ruth started to clap, and soon, surprisingly, even Patty begrudgingly lent her applause to the boom.

Then Patty stood up. “I also want to get a divorce on the grounds of not liking my husband. He’s an a——. And I can’t. I have to stick with him for the rest of my life because he’s not actually doing anything wrong. He’s just a jerk.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Bernadette sat in the same shocked silence as the rest of the room. She hadn’t realized how hard it was to get a divorce, but Patty was right. There was always a reason, someone at fault for doing something to the other. Though in Patty’s case, it sounded like her husband was mean, and that certainly counted in Bernadette’s mind. “And you should be able to. All of you. Have you talked to a lawyer? We have a couple right here.” She hooked her thumb toward Ruth and Jenny.

“We’ll chat after,” Ruth said.

“Absolutely.” Jenny nodded. “I think being an a—— is an excellent reason for telling him to hit the road.”

Patty took a deep breath, a look of relief on her features. “Thank you.”

“What about you, Bernadette?” Melanie asked. “What do you want?”

Penelope knew, but only because they’d shared late-­night cocktails at Barnard where they split open their chests and pulled out their deepest, most secret wants. “I want to be the first female CEO of a major publishing house. And I want all of the things you guys want too. Why shouldn’t we have that?”

A coded knock — ­tappety tap-­tap-­tap —­ sounded at the door.

Everyone stood, gathering their purses, books and jackets to leave, while Bernadette and Melanie glanced at Penelope. Who was knocking?

“Ugh, that’s Dave,” Penelope explained. “He’s the janitor who lets us in on his cleaning shift. Meeting adjourned.”

“Wait.” Bernadette held up her hand, hoping to keep everyone for a second longer. “I just want to say one more thing.”

The ladies sat back down, watching her intently as if she held the answers to solve the world’s problems.

“When union workers are unhappy, they strike. The suffragettes held strikes. We should strike.”

“I’m not really the poster and shouting type.” Patty made a face that matched the prickly personality she’d shown since Bernadette met her.

“Not an official strike,” Bernadette explained, the ideas in her mind taking root and growing into a web, long and winding and coaxing. “There’s just too many things we want to solve to try and do it all at once. But many small rebellions can add up to big changes. One coffee cup not made at a time. One dinner not made at a time. One race you run at a time. One time you don’t answer the school phone call or tell them to call your husband. Pick one thing you can do to start the change, and then do that thing one minute, hour, day at a time. I’m not making coffee anymore. And I’m not going to listen to my boss, who says I’m not qualified to keep my promotion. I’m fighting for myself one grammatical error at a time.”

Melanie grinned, her thoughts melding with Bernadette’s. “We’re going to start a revolution.”

“That’s right, ladies.” Bernadette suppressed a whoop and stood. She thrust her arm out, wiggling her fingers. “Who’s with me?”

Eight hands landed on top of hers.

Excerpted from CONFESSIONS OF A GRAMMAR QUEEN copyright © 2025 by Eliza Knight. Used with permission of Sourcebooks Landmark. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Confessions of a Grammar Queen is on sale now, wherever books are sold.