Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Feb. 4, 2025
Winifred Notty is hired on as the governess for Drusilla and Andrew Pound, the spoiled and pretentious charges of Ensor House. Determined to raise them to be proper members of Victorian Society, Winifred struggles daily to hide the secrets of her past, and who she really is. But her captivity at the secluded Ensor House brings out the Darkness, the Darkness that Winifred has long since kept hidden. But Winifred is not just a reluctant governess to unruly children; she had a plan to insert herself into the Pound household and, now that it’s successful, she can finally put more of her dangerous plans in action.
“Mrs. March” author, Virginia Feito, has written a novel that is delightfully creepy, gory and downright disturbing- and I loved it.
Winifred narrates the novel through posthumous journal entries, slowly unraveling the story of how she came to Ensor House and what plans she enacted there. Through these entries, we also learn a little bit about Winifred herself and her particularly dysfunctional childhood, which no doubt contributed to the decisions Winifred made upon her arrival.
The story is creatively written, told from the perspective of a very unexpected, very eccentric woman during the Victorian era. With a brazen and terrifying main character such as Winifred, I expected next-level horror and boy, did Feito surpass expectations. The giant Ensor House definitely checks all the boxes for a haunted house and, even without the paranormal component, Winifred’s delusions are enough to turn the House into a goosebump-inducing locale.
I loved the Victorian setting and Winifred as a protagonist (and antagonist, to be honest). “Psycho” takes the Victorian era and turns it on its head, leaving blood and destruction in its wake. I always love when I accidentally stumble upon smart, original Victorian horrors and Feito delivered this is in spades. “Victorian Psycho” is an unexpected delight.

I loved the writing style. The author uses words I would never think to incorporate and they help elicit the creepy atmosphere of this book so well. The narrator, our MC, has a fun dark and sarcastic tone through the book that is both jarring and humorous. I loved the twists, the characters, and the intensity throughout. Also, loved the ending!! I greatly enjoyed this gory and dark read.

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the ARC.

Wickedly gory and delicious.

The minute I saw my favorite reviewer on IG (averynicebook) review this I knew I had to read it.

Definitely my favorite horror I read this year. Victorian Psycho is American Psycho if Patrick Bateman was a voracious and evil governess.

Winifred Notty is QUITE the villain. She’s vile yet funny. Terrifying yet sympathetic believe it or not. She’s an incredible narrator of her story unreliable or not. Overall, she’s a demon wrapped in layers of modest Victorian dress. I could not believe some of the descriptions in this book. The last few chapters are something to behold. The book leaves you breathless covered in coagulated dread.

Be very aware it’s violent and gross. Every TW you could imagine to be quite honest, but it’s surprisingly readable and un-put-downable.

Loved it!

Five rotting stars for this one!

Thank you NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the digital advanced readers copy.

Holy Christmas Cards - what did I just read??

Winnifred Notty arrives at a beautiful Yorkshire estate to be a governess to two tweens, and while her resume makes her appear reputable and responsible, the Darkness in her lurks and is growing more and more difficult to suppress.

This is a Christmas regency slasher, it starts slowly enough but devolves into a nineteenth century splatterpunk. Absolutely not for the faint of heart (content warning: murder, maggots, vomit, blood, entrails, gross food descriptions, child abuse, animal abuse, lots of chamber pot talk) but encouraged for the gore seeking rotted out readers looking for a seasonal slaying.

There were a few loose ends I would have liked to have seen tied up before the end, and I hate the title but overall it was an enjoyable (???) short read!

Haven't been this disturbed since Sayaka Murata's Earthlings. A must read for those who love all things dark, gothic, and grotesque!!

“Victorian Psycho” is giving Lizzie Borden to the absolute extreme vibes.

It’s supposed to be quirky and there were a couple of one liners that made me chuckle but the tone of the book is perculiar and unusual and it just didn’t land for me.

There isn’t much plot to the book other than the main character being an Absolute terror. There is a vague revenge plot but it seems more of a convenient placeholder and the real goal is to be as gory and shocking as possible.

If you are a fan of graphic gore and body horror with satire undercurrents this book may definitely work for you.

Thank you to Liveright and Virginia Feito for the EARC!

Publish date: February 4th 2025

This book has been on my radar since Mother Horror (Sadie Hartmann) brought it to everyone’s attention on her Instagram recently. So I was quick to request an ARC through NetGalley, and was pleasantly surprised when I was accepted! Thank you to NetGalley, Virginia Feito, and Liveright Publications for this review copy.

Winifred Notty has arrived to serve as governess at Ensor House for the Pounds family. Little does anyone know that “Fred” has brought with her both secrets and violence. Was she born evil, or was it the laudanum?

This gory, hilarious, dark and blood filled novella gives insight into the lives of Victorian women and children, the hardships endured, and little tidbits of every day life (what DID they wear as underwear?). Victorian Psycho was a blast from start to finish, told from the first person present, leaving the reader unsure as to where the story went from page to page.

There are so many unanswered questions, as often happens with a novella, but it leaves the reader with much to ponder over the following days. My only regret is that the ending was wrapped up too fast for my liking. I feel like our author made some great choices, but also a few that were surprising, simply because it seemed there was no reason for the action (or maybe there was and I missed it!).

Overall I would recommend giving this one a read! It’s a quick 208 pages and is easy to get through in one sitting. If you like gothic, bloody horror and mystery, you’ll like this one!

P.S. This book has already been optioned for a movie!!

Victorian Psycho, by Virginia Feito, is a book for a very specific audience.

This is very much a character-driven novel, with very little in the way of plot. There *is* a reason behind some of what our psychotic governess does, but it’s revealed very late into the book and can leave the reader a little non-plussed.

The book is extraordinarily violent and our governess is very, very weird.

There is definitely some humor and snark peppered in between the extreme violence and it gives a bit of relief here and there.

I found that I did like the book, even as I ached for more plot, however you MUST be okay with the level of violence in the book.

• ARC via Publisher

I honestly didn't care for this book. I was expecting a slow burn horror but it comes out swinging with the FMC being needlessly cruel and apathetic. I'm not going to lie, I didn't make it all the way to the end. The prose was dull and I felt like there was no real backstory. It really just felt like violence for the sake of violence. If there had been some lead up or reasoning behind the violence then I may have been more interested but as it stands, it just felt flat and uninspired.

This one intrigued me from the beginning and I was surprised by how much I liked it. It was so good, gross, hilarious, different. All of that is right up my alley if I am being honest. I had a good time reading this and I could not put it down. I just kept flipping the pages. The characters were great, the writing was well done and the entire thing was just so good! I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this when it comes out!

This one surprised me! I was not expecting this to be this repulsive, hilarious, and disturbing all at the same time. Frankly, I could not put this one down. I had such a fun time with Victorian Psycho, I loved how deranged our main character was, it was all so bizarre and made me wonder how someone could come up with ideas like this! Victorian Psycho is a good one to go in blind and just enjoy the disturbing ride until the end! This will be one I revisit for sure.

This is an intriguing and unsettling read for fans of the horror genre, especially those who appreciate a significant dose of gore. The story revolves around Miss Notty, an unreliable narrator who adds an interesting layer to the narrative. One of the key characters, Winifred, who is a presumed psychopath.

While the story has a compelling premise, it feels somewhat underdeveloped in its execution. It reads more like an in-depth exploration of a single character's psyche rather than a fully developed novel. However, as a short story, it successfully creates an eerie and disturbing atmosphere that will appeal to readers drawn to the psychological complexities of disturbed and deranged minds.

One of the standout elements of the writing is the bizarre and almost grotesque depiction of the characters’ meals, which surprisingly adds to the unsettling tone of the narrative, perhaps even more so than some of the violent events in the story.

Overall, this tale offers a unique blend of strangeness and entertainment, providing just enough intrigue to keep readers engaged. It's definitely worth exploring for those interested in psychological horror and unreliable narrators.

Thank you to Netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC!

What in the gothic horror.....?

Victorian Psycho is the tale of Winifred Notty, a newly hired governess of the Pounds family. She's not your normal governess, she's worse.

Full of macabre thoughts and desires, Miss Notty slowly starts acting on her feelings. Everyone comes to a culmination during Christmas, where the truth come out about Miss Notty and why she is with the Pounds.

While the style of writing is of the gothic nature, the story itself is hilarious. Half the time, I was wondering if this was really happening or was this all in Winnie's head. She's a nut, but I still loved her and her mean streak.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was such a fun read! I read the whole thing in one sitting and wanted more. I found myself gasping in disgust and laughing out loud. This will be a christmas classic for me in the future for sure.

2.5 ✨ I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mrs. March by Virginia Feito, so I was excited that I was approved to read this Arc, but unfortunately this was a miss for me. I found the writing style/format to be very clunky. Parts in the book dragged with no meaning that would make me lose interest.

Victorian Psycho had great bones but felt very underdeveloped.

Thank you NetGalley & Liveright for this ARC!

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is a gothic tale about Winifred Notty a governess who recently takes a job at Ensor House. Winifred has many secrets and desires that she tries to keeps under control but, the more she stays at Ensor House the harder it is to do. Winifred's mother is dead and she found her letters that her father had written her. Her step father believes she is the spawn of the devil and tries everything in his power to get rid of the demon that lives inside of her. On Christmas Eve everything that she has been thinking about doing to the Pounds' and their guests come to frution. In the mist of the chaos Winifred finds that she has an unlikely alli in one of her wards. This was a fast paced read that will make you want more from Virginia Feito. I would like to think both NetGalley and Liveright for letting me read an advanced copy of this novel.

What an odd fever dream of a book. This one did remind me a lot of American psycho, in the way that it was so weird and random. This one was pretty grotesque and super disturbing things were brought up very nonchalantly. I found it hilarious at times and outlandish for most of it. Definitely read if you enjoy fever dream like books!

Holy moly. I downloaded Victorian Psycho on a whim, not having read any of Feito's other work. This book was fantastic. I wasn't expecting such a perfect mix of funny and dark. Because of the intro to this book, you knew where it was headed and what the MC would do at the end, but the ride there was great. A really well written book.

this is a book that grows on you- I initially had very “meh” feelings about this, however, as Fred’s spiral into madness ever grew, I got more and more immersed in the story.

Ms. feito can certainly write horror, and this was no exception! be wary though, this isn’t for people who aren’t fans of gore, or especially child gore. know your limits!

excited to read more from this author!

What a wildly entertaining ride! A Victorian take on American Psycho (which I have alas not read yet, but that didn't make this any less fun) exploring themes of gender, sexuality, and caste in a most horrific and hilarious way. So many fun twists and gory turns!

I devoured this. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!