Thanks go out toNetGalley and the publisher for an ARC

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to say about this was as it didn't really do much for me. I don't so much mind the unreliable narrator / what is this character even saying style even it's been a bit overplayed at this point. But I do think it's very easy for it to come off as forced, and unfortunately that's how I felt through the majority of this one. I do think the time period and aesthetics are one of the things that will work in it's favor for an adaptation (and can see why they rushed to put one with Margaret Qualley.) But the book left me craviving something that just wasn't there.

Frumpy, forward, and most definitely frightening, Winifred Notty isn’t the meek little governess that Mr. and Mrs. Pound perhaps expected at Ensor House—their brooding Yorkshire estate near the village of Grim Wold—to tutor their children in Virginia Feito’s horrifying satirical fever dream, “Victorian Psycho.”

This 208-page novella starts as a frenzied romp of fun lunacy that starts when Winifred bites a butchered calf head and chortles about eating the children. It then digresses into a bloody killing spree gone amuck.

Granted, I did find some sections quirky and humorous—although, far fetched—like the baby-swapping incident. But, for me, “Victorian Psycho,” is a pass.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Virginia Feito, and Publishers: W.W. Norton & Company | Liveright for this Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) to review.

First off, I would like to thank W.W. Norton & Co., the Liveright Publishing Company and NetGalley for the amazing opportunity to read and review an advance copy of Virginia Feito’s Victorian Psycho.

The Ensor House in the village of Grim Wolds, helmed by it’s wealthy high society inheritors - Mr. and Mrs. Pounds - is in desperate need of a governess in advance of the oncoming Christmas months for the two children of the house, the haughty and spoiled Andrew Pounds and his older sister, the cheeky and secretive Drusilla Pounds.

Enter our narrator, Winifred Notty, a sort of nanny for the rich Victorian set with a somewhat obscured past, but armed with a smiling and sneering promise to whip the children back into shape, fix their manners and have them mindful of their school lessons. As the reader, it becomes clear very quickly that Winifred (or “Fred” as she instructs the children to call her, named after “the demon that lives inside her”) is anything but a typical child-minder, with intentions that feel unclear, but are more than certainly ominous. This idea that nothing is as it seems is made even more evident by the first words that Victorian Psycho shows you which promise that in three months time, everyone that inhabits Ensor House will be dead.

What follows is a fascinating dive into the mindset of a person that at every juncture in her life has been abandoned, left for dead or told that she was nothing short of pure evil. Winifred’s interactions with the children at lesson times border on the surreal as she drops hints here and there to illustrate the ugliness in life and that by virtue of being alive, all creatures are in pain. Brief scenes of her unstable past and, confusingly for Winifred, possibly even a future version of herself and her surroundings, reveal an unsatisfied and growing darkness that has always been inside of her and feels more than ready to be unleashed.

But as the story progresses and Winifred is granted access to the inner workings of the stately Ensor House and it’s many housemaids, cook staff and servants, the repulsive nature of the Pounds family is exposed as the perversions in which they partake and their obsession with being at the forefront of whatever counts for high society among their rich friends in Grim Wolds leaves you wondering who is ultimately most evil in this tale.

The children rarely pay attention to Winifred and mock her incessantly, the house staff openly reject her and despise her, Mr. Pounds lecherously follows every move that her body makes and Mrs. Pounds is openly hostile and hateful of her existence and her presence in the house. Winifred indulges in the obscene nature of reality and where most women of her time would find repulsion, she finds solace in the natural decay provided by life and death.

Victorian Psycho is a master work of short fiction in the vein of some of T. Kingfisher’s best work, Patrick Suskind’s Perfume and even a breath of Edgar Allen Poe in it’s story building and overall vibe. The interstitial illustrations and captions are beautifully drawn and reminiscent of a time when the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Lewis Carroll were so graciously filled with these small delights. It’s a quick read that provides you with a near constant anxious and unsettling feeling as bits and pieces of the book’s initial promise that everyone in the story will eventually be dead are revealed slowly, while the dark, tragic and deeply disturbing history of it’s narrator is shown to you in all of it’s horror and reckless abandon.

3.5 stars. Winifred Notty becomes governess to the Pounds family, but only so she can exact her revenge upon Mr. Pounds. This is not really known until later but it's very clear from the beginning that Winifred is not quite right.
Her proclivities lean a bit toward the macabre and this all comes to a head on Christmas morning, when Winifred finally snaps and can't tell reality from her dark past.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton for this digital e-arc.*

I enjoyed this wild ride told from the first person perspective of psychotic governness Winifred Notty. Traumatized by a difficult childhood with a single mother, Ms. Notty now devotes herself to helping raise the spoiled children of the rich people she detests. Her hidden agenda is bloodthirsty revenge and she uses her position to have access to more victims. Fast-paced, riveting, gory, I appreciated a woman's voice in its exploration of insanity, trauma, and violence.

𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤 𝙗𝙮 𝙑𝙞𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙖 𝙁𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙤 is bloody good! Imagine American Psycho but set in Victorian England-complete with all the societal repression, dark secrets, twisted inner monologues you could ask for and with a side of biting humor that sneaks up on you when you least expect it.
The main character, Winifred Notty, is a seemingly proper governess… but let’s just say her thoughts are anything but proper. Absolutely unhinged—in the best way.

The author makes the Victorian setting feel so alive yet suffocating, perfectly mirroring Winifred’s unraveling. It’s creepy, dark, chilling, and GORY! The commentary on gender roles and privilege is sharp, but it never slows down the tension. Plus, that ending? I am still thinking about it!
This is a wild ride and I enjoyed every bit of it!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this book as it was really hard to read. I got halfway and then there was violence done to two kids, one the murder of a baby. I felt it was very unnecessary and gave nothing extra to the story. The book gave more of a just weird factor than creep factor and was pretty boring. The book might've been better if it was edited more, but just not my cup of tea.

A massively unhinged governess takes no prisoners. Man this was horror at its finest because so much is tongue in cheek plus the atmosphere and writing give you intense creeps. Gross, but can’t look away gross, and weirdly I want more?

I completely devoured this book in one sitting - so beautifully written and immediately captures your attention from the very first page. I had to have a dictionary with me for the first half of the book to look up some of the old English words, I felt this book was too smart for me! That’s how extraordinary the writing was, I couldn’t put this book down. The author does an exceptional job weaving in satire and dark humor with serious subject matters. The cover is gorgeous, appearing so delicate with the porcelain doll in complete contrast to the darkness lurking inside. Readers will be drawn to the beauty of the cover not truly understanding the words within that are festering with callous venom. I was torn with my own emotions reading this book since the main character is someone who you should not connect with or relate to but I found myself nodding along in agreement or laughing with her. I even questioned my own sanity at various points pondering if there’s maybe a chance everyone has a little bit of psycho within their souls. This is such an exquisite book that needs to be praised as soon as it’s released. Not everyone will agree that this book is phenomenal as this is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach but I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves. Beyond a 5 star rating for me! I will say that my ARC ebook copy did have various editing mistakes and spacing issues that I’m sure will be fixed before publication. I know many of those who have read advance copies admit to the severe brutality of the book but if I may be so bold as to suggest some further feedback. I actually think more could have been added in regards to how Winifred killed off some of the characters, not going to give out spoilers. It would have been the absolute cherry on top if the deaths of those characters were more gruesome and she made them suffer more before their deaths. I would’ve also suggested some changes at the end maybe even adding an epilogue with the point of view from a certain other character to make the book end in an even more morbid and cynical way. Just some thoughts but again nothing major just a tad more twisted since the book was superb as is. I could even see this being made into a movie but fear the adaptation wouldn’t fully capture the perfection that is this book. One of my favorite books I’ve read thus far and I will immediately be purchasing the physical copy of this book as soon as it’s released on February 4.
My endless thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this stunning ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

I loved this and I’m new to books with governess’s and the Victorian setting. At times it was drawn out a bit but I loved the plot. Watching Winifred trying to stop her impulses and be “good” was hilarious but also I was rooting for her. I liked it a lot

This book is exactly my taste so I might be a bit biased, but I loved this. Victorian Psycho is funny and grotesque, hitting all those notes I love in a Victorian or gothic novel with the bonus of a truly deranged MC. It’s uncomfortable, often improbable, but the humor carried me along as the story descended into chaos and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

The story follows a young governess named Winifred Notty as she takes up her new position caring for the Pounds’ two children, Andrew and Drusilla. This, however, is where the plot diverges from the familiar as we soon discover Winifred’s eerie and violent tendencies. With each death we get closer to discovering the truth about her traumatic past and how she was molded into the being she is today.

Beyond being witty and brutal, Victorian Psycho offers the reader an unflinching view into the mind of someone who would have often been relegated to the attic in a traditional Victorian novel and is a far cry from the feminine characters we might expect. And yes, at times it does seem impossible that Winifred should get away with what she does for so long, but I think this highlights how she is not the sole evil within the story. Each character is flawed and self-serving, indulging in some degree of immorality that harms others for their own benefit (well, aside from the babies). There was something about this book that reminded me quite a bit of A Series of Unfortunate Events with how none of the adult characters recognized just how bad Count Olaf was until it was too late, how the narrator would cheekily wink at us throughout but we as readers could do nothing but watch. I guess the difference was that I was rooting for Winifred despite what she does because she sees the world with a degree of clarity the others willfully blind themselves to— “I have found that, when faced with the inexplicable, humans will find ways of explaining most horrors away.”

This was great fun, and I look forward to not only adding a physical copy of this to my collection, but to future works by Virginia Feito. Thank you W. W. Norton & Company and Liveright for the advance copy to read and review.

Darkly humorous from its first word to its last, Victorian Psycho teems with sardonic irony and surprised me with grimly sparkling prose and a bold playfulness regarding gothic conventions. Told from Winifred Notty's perspective, the far-more-than-naughty titular governess, this short novel draws a portrait of a monstrous woman. Whether they were born or made so is, of course, up for debate.

I clearly enjoyed some aspects of this book, so why just three stars? Two main reasons:

First, while the overall effect of the writing was stunning, even when the descriptions were fundamentally visceral and repulsive, there were far too many interruptions of tone, too many passages that shifted so abruptly as to yank me out of the story. In several instances, I even reread the passage while sort of scratching my head, like, "Why?"

Secondly, despite quite enjoying the opportunity to set my ethics aside for a couple of hours while I mired myself in Winifred's psyche, in the end, I was nevertheless left with a sense of, "So what?" When I add up the sum of the narrative parts, it doesn't equal much at all, doesn't seem to do or say anything all that interesting.

So, three stars—definitely something there to recommend it, but since it seems to be written more for effect than to affect (or is it the other way around?), I doubt I'll be making the recommendation.

This isn't for me. It's just vulgar and is more shock than substance. I just felt so icky reading this. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

It's short but far from sweet. A book becomes a favorite when it's one I am desperate to keep reading and this fits the bill. Unfortunately, work got in the way so it took me a couple of days. This will not work for everyone. It is bloody and violent. There are a ton of triggers
When I say, no one is off limits, I truly mean this. I was going to give this five stars but I didn't exactly love the end. It will probably be a favorite of the year already. I will definitely be reading this author's other book, Mrs. March.

This little novella is delightfully deranged, grotesque and darkly humorous. The atrocities within delivered with a curtsy and a middle finger. 😱

Miss Winifred Notty is hired by the Pound’s family as a nanny to 7 year old Andrew and his elder sister, Drusilla. However, Miss Notty is not Jane Eyre, she is a villainess, a psychopath created by her own traumatic past.

I both loved and hated being in Ms. Notty’s head. Her thoughts were both shockingly funny at times, and disturbing. Her acute discernment of the flaws and monstrosities in others were on point.

As the story unravels over the last few days before Christmas and the 12 days after, things become more and more unhinged. While I wanted to cover my eyes, I couldn’t look away.

This book is entertaining but very disturbing. It is a horror novel, so check trigger warnings before reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s Publishers for a free ebook copy in exchange for a review.

This was a real weird one! I can’t remember where I read the recommendation for it, but I requested it and then I read it and now I’m slightly horrified! It is…not for the faint of heart. And also probably not for me. Too much baby killing and biting of other human’s flesh I guess?

This book was one hell of wild ride!! And I enjoyed every single minute of it!!

Our FMC, Winifred Notty, is definitely psycho! I found myself shocked one minute and chuckling the next! I highly recommend this one, book peeps!!

Thank you to NetGalley, W.W. Norton, Liveright, and Virginia Feito for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️ I will definitely be checking out more from Virginia!

This book was creative in its brutality. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a weirder main character that made me think “wtf did they do?!” as often as I did while reading Victorian Psycho.

That said, the pacing and plot were a bit of a miss for me. It was kind of ambiguous in plot progression and meaning and I don’t really think the author did a good job of creating a full story arc. It felt more like short stories broken into chapters.

This book is a dark, gothic, and grotesque experience that gripped me from the start. The eerie Victorian setting and unsettling events at Ensor House are so real but also deeply unserious. Virginia Feito crafts a chilling atmosphere filled with humor, dread, and blood, making it an addictive and imaginative read.
The knowledge of Winifred’s childhood and psyche deepens the story’s dark tone, highlighting her depravity and wicked thoughts. The book is absolutely diabolical, with graphic, visceral imagery that can be tough to stomach—definitely not for the faint of heart. While it’s hard to recommend to everyone due to its disturbing nature, the story is captivating enough to keep turning the pages. Feito doesn’t hold back, delivering a wild ride that will stick with readers long after they've finished.

This novella is unsettling yet brilliantly crafted, making it a memorable and disturbing read.

1⭐️s

Look, I’m all for gratuitous fictional violence. I seek it out, I inhale its gore, I relish in its cravenness. But, I also love the art of storytelling. I appreciate getting to know a character, watching them struggle and grow, empathizing with their journey. I love seeing unexpected events play out over the course of time, as characters navigate through an otherworldly and nuanced circumstance.

Unfortunately, this book had all of the former with none of the latter, and it suffered greatly from it.

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Co. for the advanced copy and the opportunity to write an honest review.

Themes…
Violence for the sake of violence.

Character Work…
It was awful being inside Fred’s head. I disliked every moment I spent there.

Prose…
Not my style, but I can tell the author has chops.

Pace…
For a 200 page book, this was a slow read. It felt like a slog for me.