Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is a blend of phycological thriller and historical fiction. The story centers on Winifred Notty, a blood thirsty governess who arrives at Ensor House to care for two children. This story can get pretty graphic. In the end, I felt that the story was more shock than substance and therefore, hard to get through. If you want a quick read with little substance then I would recommend it, but otherwise, this is a pass for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Liveright for the eArc in exchange for my honest opinion. These thoughts are my own.

Happy Women's History Month, readers! To begin with, let's look at an arresting novella about a young woman who refuses to play by the rules of Victorian England, no matter the cost to herself or to anyone around her.

Winifred Notty is a troubled soul. Raised by a mother driven to madness by the intolerable pressures of society and a father who cannot reconcile Winifred's intractable nature with his own belief in God, she's made her way from one governess posting to the next, indulging her predilection for gore and violence while nimbly eluding justice. When she arrives at the countryside estate of the Pounds family, it's with a hidden agenda that she readily hides behind a simpering smile and a dedication to proving herself as agreeable to everyone as she'd advertised when she first began maneuvering for this position.

The ancestral home of the Pounds is inhabited by the phrenology-obsessed Mr Pounds, the self-absorbed Mrs Pounds, the anemic teenager Drusilla and the younger, coddled heir Andrew. In addition to pretending to teach the children skills deemed useful by their social set, Winifred has to balance Mr Pounds' undue interest in her with Mrs Pounds' simmering jealousy. At night, Winifred explores Ensor Hall, examining portraits of ancestors and searching for hidden passageways. Through it all, she tamps down the darkness that keeps urging her to bite and to kill, as she waits for the perfect time to launch her surprise for the Pounds, their houseguests and assorted servants, all gathered at the manor for Christmas.

Winifred's voice is the main thing propelling this tale of rage and vengeance that is by turns delightful, hallucinatory and downright gory. The way she revels in bloodshed and butchery stands in stark contrast to the polite mores that dictate her existence, allowing her to get away with sadistic jokes and bloodstained evidence more often than not. The influence of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho is impossible to ignore, as Winifred and the earlier novel's protagonist Patrick Bateman share more than just an aptly descriptive book title. Fueled by rage at their circumstances and armed with imaginations that hew to the destructive and intimate, they indulge in the kinds of violence that their immediate circles refuse to countenance, at least until the violence falls directly upon their own heads. It's a wonderful bit of literary alchemy, as Virginia Feito filters the psychotic impulses of of a male yuppie struggling against 1980s capitalism into the weirdly relatable vessel of her Victorian-era antiheroine.

I especially loved the ending, both as an affirmation of justice and as class and social critique. Winifred might be awful and evil and misguided in her choices, but she seems almost a natural product of a milieu determined to break women and force them to submit to the unjust use of power. If she's going to be deemed immoral by a hypocritical society, why not just show them what immorality really is? Some people don't break, after all: some bend and warp and become even more terrifying than the systems that created them, serving almost as a corrective, and certainly a scourge, to an ecology gone out of control. Ms Feito perfectly balances Winifred's cathartic actions with the ending that seriousness demands, even as she hints at the revolutionary shadow that her protagonist casts. I found this to be a deeply satisfying book about rage and vengeance and the bloody work of being a human woman, whether in the past or the present day.

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito was published February 4 2025 by Liveright Publishing and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781631498633">Bookshop!</a>

Though it was slow to start, this little novel turned into a true gothic thriller that had me questioning everything I was reading. The character of Miss Notty is just that, naughty. Her thoughts are erratic and dark. She even addresses the darkness that sits inside her. She notices darkness in others. She has no control over her actions or her speech, at times saying things so dark and disturbing, it made goosebumps show on my arms.

I wish the story was built quicker, as I was pretty non-interested the first half of the book. Thankfully it's a short novel, but I don't believe the beginning of the novel offered much build-up. Luckily the latter half makes up for the slow beginning, and I was left pretty satisfied. With some slight turns of events that surprised me, I ended up enjoying this novel. The whole cast of characters are unfettered and nauseating and the author does a good job writing them.

Miss Notty isn’t your typical unhinged female protagonist. No will she, won’t she; No expectation of redemption. This woman is in complete control of her malicious intent and makes it clear from the jump that she delights in the grotesque. By the end, she proves she’s a woman of her word.

A wild ride! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

Set in Victorian times, we are following Winifred, who has recently gotten a job as a nanny for a very wealthy family. Winifred has made some…. Interesting choices in the past, but she is determined to overcome her violent compulsions, at least until Christmas, when she has something very special planned for her wealthy employers.
This is absolutely unhinged historical horror, and it was a wild ride. Winifred was unhinged, but you have some sympathy for her based on her past. I found myself laughing out loud and also feeling completely horrified at things she did and said throughout this book. This book is gory and gross, a little too much so for my taste. It’s short, but boy does it pack a punch. Overall, I enjoyed this weird, unhinged little book.

I loooved this and actually love it more the more I sit with it. it was dark and funny and I loved reading from Fred's perspective. the writing was absolutely delectable. really looking forward to reading from this author again!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley I'm return for an honest review.

I really liked the pacing of this book. The reveals and the increasing violence was really well done. There were definitely some graphic scenes, but they didn't overwhelm the plot.

I did not finish this book, putting it down around the 40% mark. While I was interested in the plot I found the writing style and tone didn’t work for me.

Victorian Psycho was a wild ride from start to finish. I went in totally blind to the details of the story and I’m so happy I did because everything from the character details to the comedic writing style were unpredictable.

Winifred Notty is now at the top of my favorite psychotic protagonists. She was beautifully crafted in her (very) unique nature and there isn’t anyone quite like her. That could actually be said about each of the characters and that is part of the reason I so enjoyed this book. I love character development of any kind and Virginia Feito didn’t hold back.

Strongly recommend to any of the weirdos out there who enjoy watching a strange governess hilariously terrorize a family and their guests in increasingly bizarre and descriptive ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Virginia Feito, W. W. Norton & Company, and Netgalley for the ARC!

This one is a hard one to rate, because it's not quite enjoyable to read and that's the point. Our antihero, Winifred, acts on every dark impulse she has- making this one a pretty violent read. I think it would've been more interesting to actually see some restraint from the main character. Perhaps some inner turmoil would've made her transgression into madness more fleshed out and interesting. However, I can't complain about the length and pacing of the story because I truly did blow right through it. I've been seeing a lot more of these quick little horror novellas that have a staggering amount of gore and violence and I'm not necessarily mad about it. They're actually kind of good palette cleansers.
The unlikable victims and their violent deaths definitely push the story more towards something like a black comedy. I just don't think it was funny enough for me though, not enough to make up for the paper-thin plot and violent antics that began to border on ridiculous.
One thing I will say that was really cool to me was the layout of the book. It had these gorgeous little sketches with quotes that reminded me of something out of Dickens. Very Victorian and very appreciated.

4/5 ⭐️

This was a quick, creepy read about a stabby FMC who just cannot seem to be the best teacher for these kids. It doesn't really matter though because she indeed goes psycho in the best way. This is a graphic, period piece horror perfect for those who enjoy body horror and splatterpunk.

Feminine serial killers, particularly those with an erotically-charged fascination with the grotesque and twisted, have been trending for years. I enjoyed Victorian Psycho not for its originality but for its attention to setting and era. Having someone commit such atrocities in an era where it wasn't uncommon for children to die before their second birthday created an atmosphere more brutal than modernity. Feito used that horror and capitalized on it, never once holding back. While the setting and narrative voice were great, the "reveal" halfway through was obvious from the first quarter of the novel. I would have appreciated less foreshadowing. All in all, Victorian Psycho was a quick and engaging read. I'd recommend it to anyone searching for a quippy and descriptively vibrant femme fatale story.

The Pound family gets more than they bargained for when hire Winifred Notty to be their governess. Ms. Notty has quite a Christmas planned for them! Unfortunately, the more she learns and stays with the family, the harder time she has sticking to those plans...

This book was a fever dream. Once I started, it was hard to put down this weird and interesting book. Very darkly funny, very gory. It was an interesting juxtaposition with the proper way the book was written versus the content of the novel. I was a bit let down at the ending, truth be told, but it was honestly the most realistic. If you love novels of mad women, this is a great one to pick up!

Thank you to netgalley and LiveRight for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

Requested based on the title alone - and it lives up to it! Blends gothic elements with sharp satire, creating a disturbing and compelling experience. Can't wait for the A24 movie!

Such a strange little novel!

A murderess is hired as a nanny in this one-sitting horror tale. It reads like a fairy tale for adults. And by the end, almost everyone is dead (no spoilers, our narrator lets us know in the opening pages).

Perfect for fans of Angela Slatter but much darker!

I can't stop thinking about this book. I've even been thinking about rereading this book again. Such a twisted book and it was everything that I wanted. I need to go back and read Mrs. March now. I might be hooked on this author for life.

I was so intrigued by#VictorianPsycho and thrilled to get approved on #Netgalley to be able to read it ahead of its publishing.

In Grim Wolds, England, the very strange and disturbed Miss Winifred Notty becomes the Governess to Andrew and Drusilla Pound. Winifred has spent her life forever doing her best to stifle her very violent tendencies that have had a habit of getting her ejected from her many different jobs. Here though at Ensore house she strives to behave and teach the children all they need to learn despite wanting to throttle them. She attends dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Pounds, constantly feeeling Mr. Pounds lecherous gaze upon her and knowing the Mrs. Pounds is aware of her husbands wandering eye. Winifred suffers at the hands of Mrs. Pounds and various turns but Miss Notty has a secret that she can't wait to share. One that will cause the walls and halls of Ensore house to run red.


First I want to thank #Netgalley for the chance to read #VictorianPsycho by #VirginiaFeito in return for a fair and honest review.
#VictorianPsycho didn't take me long to read as I was swept up in the words and the visuals that it painted for me. Very dark and disturbing I'm not sure that I would read it again. If you struggle with harm coming to children or infants this is not the book for you as more than once I almost put it down for just those reasons. However if you can power through those parts its a good book and very well written.

I thought I knew what to expect when starting this book, but I was pleasantly surprised (and a bit horrified) as the story progressed. While I pride myself on being able to predict twists and endings, I was not able to guess the ending of “Victorian Psycho”. At times witty, startling, and gruesome, this is an excellent quick read for horror fans and those who enjoy a Victorian setting.

4.25 stars. This was weird, unsettling and overall a good time. It is pretty horrific with what happens, but I love Winifred. She's an odd duck and made me feel uncomfortable but I also laughed a lot. Very morbid but also there were enough funny moments that helped to balance it out.