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Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil
A hilarious and surprisingly moving cozy fantasy novel from the best-selling author of Once Upon a Tome.
In a tiny farm on the edge of the miserable village of East Grasby, Isabella Nagg is trying to get on with her tiny, miserable existence. Dividing her time between tolerating her feckless husband, caring for the farm’s strange animals, cooking up “scrunge,” and crooning over her treasured pot of basil, Isabella can’t help but think that there might be something more to life. When Mr. Nagg returns home with a spell book purloined from the local wizard, she thinks: what harm could a little magic do?
This debut novel by beloved rare bookseller and memoirist Oliver Darkshire reimagines a heroine of Boccaccio’s Decameron in a delightfully deranged world of talking plants, walking corpses, sentient animals, and shape-shifting sorcerers. As Isabella and her grouchy, cat-like companion set off to save the village from an entrepreneurial villain running a goblin-fruit Ponzi scheme, Darkshire’s tale revels in the ancient books and arcane folklore of a new and original kind of enchantment.
A delightful and entertaining story of self-discovery―as well as fungus, capitalism, and sorcery―Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil is a story for those who can’t help but find magic even in the oddest and most baffling circumstances.
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil
Cozy Pairings
Book of Spells is a deep and atmospheric fragrance that blends the richness of dark chocolate with smooth sandalwood and the earthy depth of black tea. Warm and layered, this scent carries a subtle dryness reminiscent of aged pages, balanced by a soft, lingering sweetness. The result is a fragrance that feels both grounding and slightly unexpected, with a warmth that settles gently into the space. Rich without being heavy, it creates an inviting, bookish atmosphere that lingers beautifully in the air.
Why we chose this: Isabella Nagg tolerates her feckless husband, tends her strange farm animals, cooks scrunge, and croons over her treasured pot of basil, and then her husband brings home a spell book purloined from the local wizard and things get considerably more interesting. Book of Spells carries the deep, earthy, slightly mysterious atmosphere of a story this delightfully deranged, dark chocolate and warm sandalwood and the dry depth of black tea that smells like arcane folklore and ancient knowledge hiding inside something that looks entirely ordinary. Light this candle as Isabella opens the spell book for the first time, and let the warmth fill the room like a small farm where the plants have opinions, the corpses are ambulatory, and the magic has been waiting in the pages all along.