Victorian Psycho is a delightfully fucked up little romp that will leave you nervously laughing as you furrow your brow in consternation. You’ll find yourself doing double-takes as Winifred Notty’s antics grow increasingly absurd. I loved the juxtaposition of her blase attitude and nonchalant violence. It was all quite shocking and it was truly impossible to tear your eyes away.

It is quite likely that Victorian Psycho is one of my favorite books of the year. It’s rare that a book can make me emote, can make me laugh, and can shock me. It managed to do all of these things while also remaining snappy and thoroughly entertaining. Victorian Psycho is a grotesque little monster and I love her so dearly.

Umm, what did I just read? I went in to this knowing it would be dark and horrifying but I honestly had no idea. Having not read Feito's debut novel Mrs. March I read the reviews and figured, how bad could it get? Pretty grisly, actually.

Victorian Psycho is the tale of Winnifred Notty, or Fred as the demon inside her prefers to be called. We meet her as she is arrives at the home of her new employers where she will be governess to their two children. We learn that she has a dark past where she has done "wicked" things, but until those things are spelled out later we are left blissfully in the dark. It's obvious that Fred is nuts and most of the people surrounding her, employers and other servants, are morally grey and pretty weird. Not wanting to spoil the book I won't go into too much detail, but the horror is less psychological and more of the Freddy Krueger variety. This is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, for Feito goes into it with stomach-churning detail.

With all that said, I have to tell you that I read it in a day. I was obsessed. Feito has a talent to turn a phrase, that's for sure. And the entire macabre tale is told in such a way that I laughed out loud several times. Is it great literature? No, although I really enjoyed her writing sty.e. It is gross? Yup. Is it entertaining as hell? Yes! If you think you can handle it, read it. I found it original and hilarious.

I don't like trigger warning on books, but this one really needs one. Beware if you're sensitive to animal abuse, murder of infants, sexual abuse, and mental illness.

What if Patrick Bateman was a Victorian governess? “Mother, she’s the cuckoo!” Wow this book is a treat for fans of dark gothic slashers. Truly a horror FEAST. I was reading THAT killing spree scene while listening to Claire de lune and it honestly felt like watching everything happen in slow motion. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! I can’t wait to purchase my copy.

If you're a fan of: American Psycho, gruesome/gory horror, historical fiction, "bad seeds" books like Baby Teeth, read Victorian Psycho!

Virginia Feito's "Victorian Psycho" is well written and sometimes humorous and clever. However, it didn't stick with me.

It was truly graphic at times (deaths of all ages), and there wasn't enough character depth to Miss Notty to build anticipation. However, I will say-- I am not a fan of American Psycho. So, maybe that makes a difference?

If you like a good gory horror book and are not easily offended, check it out! Victorian Psycho will be released in February of 2025. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read a copy!

This was a fun read! I enjoyed going inside our Victorian Psycho, Winifred’s, mind. There were several twists and turns I didn’t see coming, which always makes a book so much more engaging.

Winnifred Notty achieves getting hired to governess for two children. The Pounds children intend to be taught by Miss Notty, where she will only "joke" about eating children around them. I genuinely struggle figuring out how to explain how delightfully weird and intriguing this novel is- I read it so quickly. It was like Grimm's Fairy Tales but told in a more modern twist? Miss Notty was so sardonically clever and petty, even amidst her murderous ways. Obviously she jokes about and refers to in the past doing horribly dreadful things, but the way she is written makes it hard NOT to root for her to win somehow. My biggest complaint was the cohesiveness of the plot- it wasn't very formed, to me, and I had a hard time following it. It could have been longer, too. I loved the main character and the vibes of the voice so much I rate this one a four and highly recommend it.

It's funny and has a couple of interesting kills but the book wears out its welcome even at under 200 pages. The narrator loves to gloss over details that might actually make the book more compelling. I have to say the Christmas finale the book teased relentlessly is pretty disappointing.

Well I loved this odd duckling of a dark, funny, grotesque horror book .
I will absolutely be reading Mrs March asap now, it has clearly been sitting on my tbr for far too long .
Virginia Feito is now on my watch list!
Def recommend this Victorian Horror

This is the first novel by Feito that I have read, and I was not disappointed. I recommend it to historical fiction fans that can handle horror and gothic story telling. I enjoyed every minute of this book. Maybe a few trigger warnings because this is not for the faint of heart. The characters good and bad were written well, and the plot line did not disappoint. I think this is the perfect season for this book. Thank you Net Galley ARC!

Gory, devious and delightful. I ate this book UP. It took me a minute to get into, but it was everything I hoped for and more

If you thought Mrs. March in Feito's debut was an odd duckling then you ain't seen nothing yet.

Winifred "Fred" Notty has just been awarded the governess position at Ensor House. Her wards are Andrew and Drusilla. The longer she works for the Pounds family the more the darkness inside her grows and grows until it can no longer be contained. That's all I'm willing to say plot wise.

This book is absolutely diabolical. And disgusting. Gross to the extreme. 🤮 Feito did not hold back in viscera dripping imagery. I strongly suggest reading this one on an empty stomach. So yeah, I can't say I'd be too comfortable recommending this to others but I admit I kept turning the pages just to see how awful this was going to get and Feito didn't let me down in that respect. This is not a character one soon forgets no matter how much you try to. *gags* 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for my complimentary copy.

I found this book endlessly entertaining. I felt that the strongest portions of the book were in the center and the lead up was suspenseful and exciting with enough twists to keep me turning. The end felt anticlimactic.

A truly insane and twisted story that perfectly fits it's name. The author did a fabulous job depicting Winifred as a true psychopath and reading from her POV was a wild ride. The story was fast paced and the plot was gripping and well thought out. Winifred is not only calculated and driven by her past, but she is also completely crazy which I think makes for a perfect nut-job. You can never truly tell if she has a plan behind her actions or if she just acts on impulse. Such a good book!

deeply dark and demented and ominous in all the best possible ways. like asking what if Jane Eyre was a murrderer?

I gave it 2 stars. I just couldn't get into the story—it felt slow and kind of flat. The main character had potential, but the only thing that made her interesting was that she was slowly going crazy. That wasn't enough to keep me hooked, and I ended up feeling pretty disconnected from both the plot and the characters. The psychological tension was there, but it didn't really make up for the slow pace. Overall, kind of a letdown.

The writing in this book was just incredible— something about it struck a chord in me and I was entrapped in every word. I was definitely worried it would sound stilted but it was lyrical, engaging, funny, creepy, and so so good!!!

Honestly, this was more of a violent comedy in my perception. ‘Victorian Psycho’ is one of those books that’s hard to recommend because you have to be a specific kind of ridiculous person to enjoy it. I luckily am. (I warned you!)
Some of the later chapters felt overwrought and kind of disrupted the climax of the story for me. I was still amused, though and I finished it in one sitting. Check out the tw’s if you’re inclined and if you’re down to clown, then I recommend it. 3.5 stars.

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito introduces Winifred Notty, a governess who arrives at dreary Ensor House, where in three months' time, she informs us, everyone living there will all be dead.  Winifred is tasked with educating the Pounds children in subjects ranging from English and French to ornamental needlework, and in the course of their lessons and bedtimes, we learn that while outwardly embodying Victorian propriety, Winifred's carefully constructed persona belies a chillingly dark imagination and inner world. As she becomes further entrenched in the estate's oppressive atmosphere and uncovers the Pounds family's peculiar proclivities, Winifred finds it increasingly challenging to maintain her façade. If you relished Maeve Fly's violently irreverent antihero and unhinged plot, you'll find Winifred Notty's distorted and uniquely vicious mind equally captivating in this eerie, blunt, and grotesquely humorous masterpiece. Warning to sensitive readers: maybe don't.

I really liked this one. I haven't read this author's previous book, so I can't compare the two books, but this one was a treat to me.
Historical + a nanny + gothic vibes + graphic deaths + gruesome violence? Hell yeah!
I'll admit that the last 5% didn't please as much as the rest of the book, but I won't hold it against the author's choices.

Quick synopsis: A woman begins work as a governess at the Ensor house where within 3 months everyone will be dead.

Review: I wanted to love this book so bad because it was promised everything I love - gothic, horror, historical, female serial killer. However, I believe this book just fell flat and lacked a thought out story line. The timeline and date is never really brought up, it’s just assumed it’s in the 1800s because they still have coffin bells. Our protagonist, Winifred, is assumed to be a psychopath because she feels compelled to kill and claims she has “darkness in her”. However, there is no reasoning behind this darkness and no real reasoning ever brought up as to why she decided to kill everyone in the Ensor house. The story occasionally goes back to her childhood and mentions her mother tried to kill her but never answers why she did that, is that what made our protagonist this way or is there some genetic psychopathic tendencies? Our protagonist is also an unreliable narrator, saying that things are happening and then saying oh no that didn’t actually just happen. It left me more confused throughout the book more than anything. Perhaps this was an artistic choice I don’t understand but it fell flat for me. It was fun slasher vibes at the end of the book but the story line fell flat, to be honest it was quite boring. I found it too easy to set this book down and walk away which is never a good sign. I would have liked to see more fleshing out of the characters and there motivations. All in all, I wish there was more depth to the story.
Thank you @netgalley and @w.wnorton for this eARC is exchange for honest review!
Victorian Psycho pub date Feb 4 2025