The Devil and Mrs. Gooch: A Novel

"The Devil and Mrs. Gooch opens with the kidnapping of a Hob, a many-limbed creature that hides in the backs of cupboards and maintains the soul of their dwelling. The culprit, we soon learn, is Gwendolyn Gooch, the six-foot, jackbooted, entrepreneurial villain of Darkshire's debut, Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil. Newly arrived in the rainy capital city of Verdigris, Gooch is determined to force the hobs to retrofit a massive hotel she's renamed Gooch Towers. Her villainy is so spectacular that she entrances the Devil himself, who loses himself in her glorious, capitalistic cruelty and becomes her lieutenant. Opposing them is a new protagonist, Professor Green, a mixed-race scholar whose father runs the old wizarding establishment of Verdigris, and who would rather be left alone to study his books in the scriptorium. But Professor Green has just discovered a rare, complete set of The Household Gramarye (and the new set's prim famulus, Mrs. Bobkins) -- and, well, only a fool would trust the Devil to be their lieutenant"-- Provided by publisher.