_Victorian Psycho_ by Virginia Feito is a disturbing gothic horror book with twisted characters and a somewhat unreliable narrator. Winifred Notty is the new governess to the two children of Ensor house tasked with teaching them of the world and their places in it, but she also hides a secret past. Her accounts of the family members, staff, and guests are witty and comedic, while her thoughts become increasingly deranged, leading up to a Christmas celebration the reader will not forget. A gruesome and quick read for fans of gothic horror.

Gruesome, creepy and darkly hilarious Victorian Psycho was an absolutely wild ride.
A novella about a governess arriving at a new home filled to meet her new charges. Miss Notty is unhinged and unmoored and while the subject matter is disturbing I had a lot of reading it.
For more indepth thoughts, check out my spoiler free youtube review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qc9u0Fyq4w

Victorian Psycho is a short novella so I will keep my review short too by saying WHEW. What a ride. I went in to this story without much research in to what it was actually about and, therefore, very little expectation and I think that may be the way to go. I loved Feito's writing, the Victorian feeling that is captured, and the gruesome, satirical passages. A really fun, short read.

Thank you W. W. Norton & Company for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Available Feb. 04 2025

This was a very unfortunate read. Right from the beginning I found there to be very unnecessary comments and descriptions, particularly involving female characters. This book reads like it was written by a man who’s describing a woman via what he’s seen in porn. This is doubly disappointing because the author is, well, female. A pretty disappointing read overall.

An easy read that I wish could have been a bit longer. A very gruesome and gory story. The ending felt rushed and somewhat predictable. The writing was very good though.

Overall: The author's unique, bold, extremely dark but sarcastic tone makes your reading experience so special. The drawings inside the book, the heart-throbbing conclusion, the unexpected twist, the vicious sociopathic but interestingly engaging antiheroine, and the eerie cover of the book made me clap harder for the entire execution! If you're open to reading something original, unexpected, and gripping, and historical gothic themes are your genre, this book will suit all your needs.

Many thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company / Liveright for sharing this unique historical book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book is a unique creature. You are introduced to Miss Notty, a peculiar young lady who is hired to be a governess at a mansion, working for an odd family, with spoiled, churlish kids. Enjoying the Victorian era setting was a refreshing start to the book, little by little, horrific scenes start to appear and before I knew it, blood and guts were everywhere! I knew it ours be somewhat horrific, but I was not pleased nor prepared for such vivid descriptions of gore. That is probably my fault. I did enjoy the book, so I gave it four stars. Be prepared for blood and carnage. Thank you to NetGalley and Live Right Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm about to make this book my entire personality. I loved it so much. Gothic, creepy, disgusting, vile, darkly funny .... gah this was fantastic.

I had high hopes for this and it started off well. I loved the nods to Victorian literature and the satirical tone. But the characters were so underdeveloped and it seemed to lurch from scene to scene.
Thank you to NetGalley and WW Norton and Co for the ARC

This one was not for me. While I’m generally a big fan of gothic horror, the plot didn’t grab me and the writing style was off-putting.

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is a darkly comical, grotesque exploration into the mind of an unrepentant antiheroine, Winifred "Fred" Notty. A wicked gothic novella, this is something rather different and deeply unsettling in taking on the Victorians, mashing satire with horror in a shocking, strange, and weirdly captivating way. Notty, a gender-flipped, time-traveling iteration of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, is more the product of a monstrous upbringing than anything intrinsically villainous. Her backstory-continuously enveloped in trauma, psychological scars, and a poisonous relationship with her mother-is the disturbing bedrock upon which unyielding cruelty and emotional disconnection are securely founded.

It's about Notty becoming a governess for the Pounds family at Ensor House, employed to tutor the two children, Andrew and Drusilla. From the first day of her arrival, however, she informs them that in three months, they will all be dead. What follows is an icky, darkly comedic unspooling of her malevolent plans. Adding to the discomfort and macabre amusement are the layers of Notty's relations with the children, especially her dark and twisted teaching methodologies full of brutal stories and chilling threats.

Some of the violence and gore in Victorian Psycho are not for the squeamish. The imagery is visceral and often stomach-churning, particularly in terms of how the film treats its children and animals. The novella does not dwell on prolonged torture scenes, but the horrific results of Notty's actions will remain in the mind of the reader long after the final page is read. This is extreme horror, but not in the traditional sense-it's the psychological terror, the cold-blooded wit, and bleak satire of social mores that strike deepest.

What really makes Victorian Psycho compelling is its narrator. Notty is horrific, yet oddly fascinating and even appealing in her detachment. Her sardonic wit and ruthlessness render her a perfect lens through which to critique the hypocrisies of Victorian society. Feito's writing is sharp, her dark humor biting, and her pacing relentless as the story builds toward a harrowing climax. Though the plot in itself is basic-witnessing Notty's twisted journey through Ensor House-the characterization by Feito and the audacity of the narrative pull one into it.

Victorian Psycho is ultimately a brutal, unapologetic critique of both its era and the nature of monstrosity in and of itself. It's not for every kind of reader, particularly those sensitive to graphic violence or disturbing content. But to the readers who enjoy unnerving stories with a mix of dark humor and social critique, Victorian Psycho is a genuinely engrossing and truly unforgettable read. Feito has woven a tale that is as darkly comedic as it is disquieting, and Winifred Notty is a protagonist who will probably stay with you long after closing this book.

⋆⋆⋆⅘ — ultimately an enjoyable satire/thriller, but i did not love the prose. i feel like i don't often notice period inaccurate dialogue unless it's very blatant, and it was very in-your-face questionable in this book. also very bizarre at times—how does she manage to kill like five people, including a baby, before christmas and no one says anything?—but honestly, all the other characters were portrayed as both self-obsessed and severely stupid, so i can believe they wouldn't notice a servant's disappearance. whether this makes for good characterization or an enjoyable story is a different question—i liked it, but i'm not sure whether everyone would. it's very flagrant, and the author's views are outright screamed in every other paragraph. no subtle blue curtains with this one. i did like how fred's descend into derangement was written, however.

okay, not really relevant to my review, and didn't affect my liking of the story but! a lot of people are saying that she's a monster made by victorian society etc etc, but i read her as a born psychopath. she's been deranged since she was a child. her mother's trying to repeatedly kill her may or may not have pushed her over the edge but. she was not a normal baby. idk. she very much inherited her mother's issues with psychosis.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.

Victorian Psycho is a bloody romp of a tale injected with comedic bits. I very much enjoyed the tale of murderous governess Winifred Notty and her vengeance reaped upon the Pounds family and their guests. The period, setting and tongue in cheek humor with a deranged psychopath at the helm made for a unique story unlike any other.

Striking and unsettling Victorian Psycho explores deeply disturbing themes following Winifred Notty's path of destruction as a governess who sets her eyes on the Pound family of Ensor Estate.

Winifred tries her best to suppress her urge of murderous ways, but as anything evil it starts to seep through her pours and becomes slightly manic from time to time leaving a trail of bodies behind. Her dark humor and breaking the fourth wall really shows just how unhinged she is as a person, yet it's so refreshing. She understands there is something wrong with her, but she completely accepts who she is and what she has done with no second guessing.

I very much enjoyed the writing style and storyline. It kept me wanting to read to see what happens next. The ending was so delightfully disgusting absolutely no one was off limits once Winifred let her dark twisted urges take over.

If you decide to read this PLEASE read the trigger warnings this isn't for the faint of heart!

Striking and unsettling Victorian Psycho explores deeply disturbing themes following Winifred Notty's path of destruction as a governess who sets her eyes on the Pound family of Ensor Estate.

Winifred tries her best to suppress her urge of murderous ways, but as anything evil it starts to seep through her pours and becomes slightly manic from time to time leaving a trail of bodies behind. Her dark humor and breaking the fourth wall really shows just how unhinged she is as a person, yet it's so refreshing. She understands there is something wrong with her, but she completely accepts who she is and what she has done with no second guessing.

I very much enjoyed the writing style and storyline. It kept me wanting to read to see what happens next. The ending was so delightfully disgusting absolutely no one was off limits once Winifred let her dark twisted urges take over.

If you decide to read this PLEASE read the trigger warnings this isn't for the faint of heart!

From the first page, Victorian Psycho envelops the reader in a decaying, ominous atmosphere. The setting is drenched in a sense of foreboding, with imagery that is beautifully grotesque. The author’s act of digression in the beginning chapters could have been tighter to keep the suspense going. It’s admirable to read upon the rare use of breaking the fourth wall, being both striking and unsettling, mirroring Winifred’s fractured psyche. Her conditioned mind prevails the stuck world she inhabits, creating a sense of intimacy to the inherent disintegration of her mind.

The novel explores deeply disturbing themes in a simplistic manner as the characters seem unmoved to the horrors unfolding around them. The readers' perceptions of morality is judged by the physical violence and heavy consumption taking over the narrative of this piece. The grotesque doesn’t just lie in the blood and gore, but in the insatiable hunger that seems to consume both the characters and the world they inhabit.

Gluttony is turned into something even more gory than violence itself, rendering a simple appetite grotesque in its own right. It’s almost paradoxical how this indulgence becomes not just a physical act, but an existential one. What is shocking is not merely the gore, but the indifference to it—a world where the horror is happening right in front of the characters, yet they remain blind to it by the glistening distraction of class importance.

Victorian Psycho forces readers to confront uncomfortable questions about mortality, morality, and its limits. The yummy yearning for the indulgence of violence maintains its spontaneity, making the obvious yet again passive to anyone that finds it transparent. The blend of mocking satire and its outcomes leaves the reader with a chill—one that lingers long after the final page is turned.

I…..I don’t know what I was expecting….


This…might be one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read? Maybe? I don’t know. I have so many thoughts.

Let me just say, I didn’t hate this. If anything, I was confusingly intrigued and had to finish it in one sitting because….what the actual hell did I just read??

While this is a very American Psycho meets Silence of the Lambs…it’s also something else entirely. Even through the gore and the murder and the generally disgustingly vibrant details of both, I was chuckling at the wit and dry humor throughout.

What does that say about me as a person, though? 🤔🤔
Probably nothing great.

I can’t say I would recommend this to many, although the few that I would recommend it too would be equally as enthralled and horrified. (Because who willingly reads about infanticide or child death or cannibalism? Clearly only sick fucks like myself. Shame on me.)

And, despite the utter horror, violence, and gore of the last 2 chapters, they were my favorite. A retelling of the “12 Days of Christmas”, indeed.

Overall, this was a great time. I am still in a “what the fuck just happened” frame of mine, currently. But man. What a ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton and Company for allowing me to read this insanely unique and twisted tale! I can’t say I’ll be forgetting it anytime soon. (Or wanting to eat anything, for that matter.)

This is about Miss Winifred Notty who arrives at Ensor House to be the new governess for the Pounds family. Secretly bloodthirsty with a penchant for perverse and horrifying compulsions...as Christmas nears, Miss Notty is going to hand out some sinister gifts of her own.

I don't know where to begin...this is a gothic Victorian version of American Psycho. We're diving into Miss Nottys broken and traumatized psyche as she's humorously trying to suppress her murderous urges...and hide the evidence of those she can't. It's a pitch black comedy as even the most graphic violence is described with nonchalance and humor. It feels satirical in so many ways. Winifred Notty is, by far, one of the greatest anti-heros I've ever read. She's hilarious, she's out of her goddamn mind.

It starts a bit slow but it just builds and builds until the outright batshit insane finale. It's not a perfect book, there are a few issues with pacing and structure but it's mostly easy to overlook. The writing in itself is fantastic. I had a really great time with this. I laughed through the shock.

Content warning...it truly IS very graphic. And disgusting. Most of it's told with humor. Blood and gore abound. Including infanticide and child death. A lot of it. (She's only joking about eating children.) 🤭

The publisher was kind enough to send me an ARC but this will be released February 4th 2025. The movie, starring Margaret Qualley, is due to start production next year.

I'm giving it 4/5⭐

This book was weird, and wonderful.
I love the voice of the writing, it is so unique. And the plot kept me interested every step of the way.

Be aware there is some gore and violence that may not be for everyone.

This was a fantastic, twisted and hilarious read. Although the title evokes American Psycho but this isn’t a gothic transplant, where Bateman was narcissistic, Winifred Notty just delights in evil. Feito's dry humour is perfect for the tone and makes this a wonderfully entertaining read.