A gleefully twisted romp through the tropes and conventions of the Victorian Novel (or modern period piece). Winifred Notty has been hired to be the new governess for Ensor House's Pounds family, arriving at some point in the autumn. Victorian Psycho is narrated by Notty as she adjusted to the schedule and whims of the family and structured life of the household. She also reveals her disguised troubled life and her attempts to reign in her inner darkness.

Notty, and yes it all seems the family is smirking with hidden thoughts about her name, is meant to make the stupid and arrogant young Andrew fit for boarding school and ignored-until-needed Drusilla fit for a domestic life. Mr Pounds is comfortable in his privileged positions and follows his desires wherever, frequently in hostile disagreement with his wife who eeks out what power she may.

As is slowly revealed, Notty's life is not so clean and respectable as it first appears. Especially as the novel opens with the chilling image caption "In three months everyone in this house will be dead." Her cutting thoughts are not always restrained, leading to some awkward moments or quick rephrasing to something similar, but less wounding. Notty can't always restrain her impulsive actions causing for rapid action or quick rearrangement of the scene. That is until Christmas arrives.

A welcome counter to the traditional Victorian book of manners (or perhaps manors).

Recommended for readers of horror, the macabre or those wishing those smug Downton Abbey types finally receive what they've truly earned.

I loved this. It’s completely unhinged and I was here for every macabre second of it.

Winny our governess is possessed by some kind of dark force but the Pounds, the family she works for are so irritating that you almost sympathize with her. There is a lot of dark humor mixed in with the gory and often graphic scenes it’s an odd mix but it totally works.

My only gripe was I wanted more!

I read this one through my netgalley app and really loved it! The cover hooked me and the story kept me flipping the pages of the ebook. If you love creepy Gothic thrillers this one needs to be on your 2025 reading list!

This book is gross (positive)! So if that suits your taste, you'll enjoy. WInifred Notty is our "heroine", but is the villain of this story. We as readers are front and center to her intrusive and violent thoughts, and things do NOT get better. It's clear how the story will end from the start, and this is more of a wild ride with a straight path than one where there are major twists and turns.

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

I absolutely loved this novel and I can’t wait to read Mrs March by Virginia. Victorian Psycho was wickedly fun and downright hilarious at times. I couldn’t help but love our deranged main character Winifred! This book is so well written and Feito brings you directly into the Ensor House, holding your attention until the very end. At several points my jaw was on the FLOOR and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud in disbelief.

If you love dark historical fiction with plenty of horror, check out Victorian Psycho!

Sometimes people will talk about a book being completely bonkers and bat-sh*t insane, and then I pick it up and am completely disappointed by how tame it is. Victorian Psycho is NOT one of those books. Winifred Notty is exactly what the title of this book describes her as- a Victorian Psycho. This book is weirdly wonderful, and it will leave you asking yourself "am I a psycho for having so much fun while reading that?".

Let's get into it:

Characters- Is it too early in the year to give Winifred my "Weird Girl Of The Year" award? You know what, I don't care. Winifred is a FREAK, and I love her for it. The author does a phenomenal job setting up our main character as the unsettling, unstable, somehow not unlikable character that she is. The entire book relies on this one character being effective, and I'm glad to say that it delivers. She is sneaking around sniffing people's hair, swapping people's babies, biting raw meat, and just generally behaving the way a Victorian Psycho ought to. All of the other characters were well written, don't get me wrong, but Winifred is the star of the show here and I'm so into it. My only miniscule nitpick in the character department is that I would have loved to see more of Drusilla, especially at the end when everything goes unhinged, but otherwise this is a perfect category for me. 5/5!

Plot- There isn't anything revolutionary about the concept of this story necessarily; a woman is hired on as a governess at a big creepy house and is tasked with teaching the children, and she ends up immersed in the drama of the family. This is more or less the plot of a dozen other gothics that I've read (and loved). Except in this book, the main character is unabashedly crazy and has no intent or desire to be a good governess. Unlike the classic gothic story, the evil is not coming from inside the house and being unraveled by our main character, no sir, here our main character is evil, and she is descending upon the members of this house to cause chaos and bloodshed. I think that this is a brilliant take on the genre! I'm giving the plot a 4/5

Horror- Walking away from this story is very confusing, because I'm not sure if it's inappropriate to describe this story as "funny" or not, but honestly, I did think it was just as hilarious as it was upsetting, and I applaud that. I think that satire and horror make a fantastic combo when done right, and Virginia Feito has hit a sweet spot here. There are some truly horrific elements at play here, some of which are going to be triggering to certain audiences (yeah, I'm talking about the baby killing/kidnapping), so I feel like enjoying this story as much as I did might be a bit taboo, but I don't care. I'm a lover of weird horror and this story is a specific breed of weird horror that I didn't know I needed until now. The horror in this book definitely leans more into "disturbing" than "scary". Very well done IMO. 4/5

Pacing- This book could easily be read in one sitting. In fact, I think that it would be best enjoyed that way. This book is so fast that sometimes it felt like you were sprinting towards the end, and that really added towards the feeling of utter madness that this book exudes. 5/5 in pacing.

Writing- this story has such a unique voice, I mean truly, I can't compare it to anything else.
Feito might be a genius, or she might be a psycho herself. I don't know, but I need more of her writing in my life. 4.5

Final Thoughts- Who do I need to talk to in order to get this book adapted into a movie? Seriously, I think that this story could work so well as an artsy, satirical horror story. I'm seeing some real potential here. Someone call Yorgos Lanthimos and tell him to channel all of that weird energy he put into "Poor Things"; this is going to be a hit! Okay, but seriously, this book is going places (most likely to an asylum of some sort). The weirdo-horror enjoyers are EATING in 2025, and Victorian Psycho is the main course!

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publishers of this book for providing me with a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My review will be in Scream Horror Magazine
Absolutely loved this I was laughing all the way through, don't know what that says about me? Haha!

I enjoyed this dark, violent revenge-on-the-rich story. While the twist was a little predictable, this story and prose felt like a journey into traditional Vic Lit and I appreciated the unreliable narrator - her psyche was fascinating!

Victorian Psycho is a darkly unsettling yet weirdly humorous read that kept me on my toes with the disturbing actions of the MC, Ms. Notty. I found myself stopping multiple times—not just to process the sheer absurdity of what I was reading but also to share passages with my non-reader partner (who was equally horrified).

Things I Enjoyed:
✨ Dark Humor

✨ Fast-Paced Story

✨ Unique Story Telling and Narrator

✨ Victorian Setting

I had no idea where this story was headed, and that unpredictability was a big part of why I enjoyed it so much! The short length (under 200 pages) packs a punch, and the writing style is sharp and unforgiving. The fact that the MC opens the story by revealing how the story ends added a layer of suspense and doubt. I couldn’t stop trying to figure out the why behind her actions, secretly hoping it was all in her head or that she was under some kind of supernatural possession.

Despite the MC’s disturbing actions, there was one pivotal scene where I found myself unexpectedly sympathizing with her only to burst out laughing moments later when another character delivers the pettiest insult during the climax. The balance of horror and humor was just so spot on!

By the end, I was left questioning everything—and loving every second of it. If you’re into dark, unsettling reads with a twisted sense of humor, and aren’t overly squeamish, give this one a try, but please read the trigger warnings!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the ARC! 🙏

I honestly have no idea what I just read. It was wild. Winifred Notty arrives as a governess to the Pound children. It’s pretty clear right off, that there is something off about her. She has some pretty dark thoughts and a dark plan for the household. I found the whole story sort of funny in a dark comedy sort of way but there’s a lot of disturbing things going on in the story and her past. Every time she started to plan something weird or even tell people some of the messed up things she was thinking, it was hilarious and crazy! It was an enjoyable read but I’m honestly still processing some of her crazy and her motivations.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read and review this one.

Thank you NetGalley! I’m still quite confused about what I read. The title drew me in. Boiled down it’s a simple plot but the telling of this story was bizarre, disjointed and vague. Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House to become the governess to the Pounder’s children, Andrew and Drusilla. Looking back at Winifred’s history her true purpose comes to its conclusion. Filled with horror this short book doesn’t come together for me. I’m sure there will be some who would enjoy this but I’m afraid I’m not one of them

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is a deliciously twisted gothic thriller that drags you into its dark, labyrinthine world and refuses to let go. The book follows a troubled protagonist whose obsession with her own identity and her desire to fit into society’s rigid expectations lead to increasingly unsettling and sinister outcomes. Feito’s writing is sharp and atmospheric, building a suffocating sense of tension with every page.

The plot is a rollercoaster of psychological twists that will keep you guessing, and the slow-burn suspense is nearly unbearable in the best possible way. The only reason I’m not giving it a perfect five stars is that, at times, the pacing feels a bit uneven—some moments linger a little too long in their eerie buildup. But when the payoff comes, it’s worth every second.

If you're into dark, gothic tales with a hefty dose of psychological unraveling, Victorian Psycho is definitely worth a read—but don’t expect a happy ending.

What a wild ride! This was a fever dream on steroids and I enjoyed every moment. It had many WTF moments and I finished it in one go!

This book took the Victorian governess novel and made it as dark as it possibly could!

To me, this book was all about the vibes.

The setting at Ensor house gave me gothic vibes like the classic Victorian ghost stories.

However, our main character, Miss Notty is unlike any character you would find in those similar stories. Instead, you get a character filled with childhood trauma and who handles that trauma in unusual ways. Eventually her motives are revealed.

There are plenty of graphic and gory descriptions throughout the story. There are not too many "likable" characters, but I do believe that is the point of the story.

It's a quick read and should be on any horror aficionado's 2025 TBR list!

This short novel begins as many gothic novels do: with a new governess arriving to a rich family’s manor. But it immediately sets itself apart with its dark POV and frankly gross descriptions. Some threads are not connected and I did not enjoy the reading experience, though I did finish it in one sitting.

Love time era that the book was written in! Spooky, fun and so entertaining! Definitely yes from me! Great short read! Thank you NetGalley for opportunity to read this early!!

Winifred Notty is a hilariously foul main character who, despite her unknown motivations for much of the book, you can’t help but be on her side a little. She terrorises those around her and you can tell the book is ramping up to her finale which is as terrible as she promises it to be. I loved the inclusion of the strange and amusing things she does for seemingly no reason (squatting over the swans..), it gave her character a strange depth. Her running to steal a baby from the local village made me laugh aloud.
She’s completely unhinged and does everything that comes to mind with no remorse or compromise.
Fast paced, hilarious and the characters are all just awful.
Thank you so much for an eARC

"Virginia Feito's Mrs. March was hailed as "a brilliant debut...[by] a writer who keeps pace with the grandees she invokes" (Sarah Ditum, Guardian) - from Daphne Du Maurier and Shirley Jackson to Patricia Highsmith. Now, Feito returns with her "silver-polish sentences and her eerie psychological acumen" (Constance Grady, Vox) to unleash an entirely new antihero on us all.

Grim Wolds, England: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess - she'll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But long, listless days spent within the estate's dreary confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family - Mr. Pounds can't keep his eyes off Winifred's chest, and Mrs. Pounds takes a sickly pleasure in punishing Winifred for her husband's wandering gaze. Compounded with her disdain for the entitled Pounds children, Winifred finds herself struggling at every turn to stifle the violent compulsions of her past. French tutoring and needlework are one way to pass the time, as is admiring the ugly portraits in the gallery...and creeping across the moonlit lawns....

Patience. Winifred must have patience, for Christmas is coming, and she has very special gifts planned for the dear souls of Ensor House. Brimming with sardonic wit and culminating in a shocking conclusion, Victorian Psycho plunges readers into the chilling mind of an iconic new literary psychopath."

Virginia Feito is SO a Buffyverse fan with characters named Winifred, Drusilla, and Andrew!

Dark, disturbing, and unexpectedly funny, this take on a Victorian Gothic is set on bringing up and tearing down as many tropes of the genre as possible. Governess Winifred is the keeper of many dark secrets--not least of which is her thirst for blood, violence, and murder. There are no kindly employers here, no brooding romantic heroes, and no children just in need of a little love. Almost every character is unlikeable, with servants almost invisible, and members of the upper classes completely undeserving of any good fortune that comes their way. I found this short book somehow both grotesque and satisfying, featuring a ruthless protagonist who amplifies the horror of a rigid class system itself built on violence.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I DNF’d Victorian Psycho about 40% of the way through. I’m not sure if it was due to me reading an ARC, but the grammatical errors and formatting made it really hard to get into a rhythm.

I was really excited for this book based on the description and I’m bummed it didn’t work out for me. It could have been a bit of wrong book / wrong time.