She’s a bloodthirsty governess seeking vengeance in this one…
💀🪓 Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito 🪓💀
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Mother first tried to kill me when I was thirteen months old… She tried again when I was three.”
You guys are not ready for this one! If you’re a feminine rage babe, or just love a simple and bloody novella, this one is for you. You’ll transition from “what the f*** am I reading?” to “Holy s**tballs, what did I just read?!” quite seamlessly.

Miss Notty is on a quest for vengeance. She has always been odd, and maybe just a little bit scary. Her father disappeared, her mother thinks the devil is inside of her. She’s peculiar, and a bit emotionless. She can be quite cavalier, but is steadfast in containing her insatiable need for blood. She’s not like the other girls, so they say.

The eerie and dark tone is set from page one, with a dreadful preface telling of death everywhere. The Victorian setting lends to the sexism and discrimination against the women, and even the children. The disdain Winifred feels toward the Pounds family and their various friends is shared. As time progresses, Winifred struggles to keep her urges at bay the more she gets to know the family, and it all builds up to a crescendo on Christmas Day. There is not a beat of suspense missed from page to page, you will feel unsettled until the very end.

Thank you to W.W. Norton & Company, Liveright, and NetGalley for this e-ARC to review! I can understand why this is one of the most anticipated releases for the new year.

“To this day I can’t help wondering what is like, fear. Coursing through your body like poison, eating away at your hopes, your ambitions, your self. I think it has to be the worst thing in the world.”

“A mother’s presence in a home is vital. Otherwise, who will instill in the children a sense of morality and tenderness?”

“Sometimes evil is born into one of the Lord’s creatures and there’s nowt to do about it, nowt at all.”
 
 
Summary:
Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess—she’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But the longer Winifred spends within the estate’s dreary confines, and the more she learns of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family, the more trouble she has sticking to her plan. Whether creeping across the moonlit lawns in her undergarments or gently tormenting the house staff, Winifred struggles at every turn to stifle the horrid compulsions of her past. When her chillingly dark imagination breaches the feeble boundary of reality on Christmas morning, Winifred is finally ready to deliver on her generous gifts. Wielding her signature sardonic wit and a penchant for the gorgeously macabre, Virginia Feito returns with a vengeance in Victorian Psycho.

“It’s crushed in paint. It’s papered on the walls. Everywhere, death.”

Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction, Gothic

I went in to this knowing it would be dark and horrifying but I honestly had no idea. I was a little disappointed in the abruptness of the last quarter of the book. There's a feeling that the author had to wrap it up quickly and just kind of threw everything at the reader. I would have liked the author to have written more to finish out the story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley.

HAHAHA THIS WAS SO UNHINGED I LOVED IT
the historical Victorian Gothic setting mixed with dark humor worked so well for me - it reminded me a lot of the movie The Favorite. I loved being in the dark but silly mind of Fred, it’s rare that a book can make me actually laugh but I was giggling at the absurd ending. Cannot wait to see Margaret Qualley murder this role in the movie adaptation

4.5 Stars.
Because anything a man can do, a woman can do just as well! Even murder.

Victorian Psycho is a quick and relentless read following a Ms. Winifred Notty arriving at Ensor house to begin her new job as governess. She tells us that everyone in the home will be dead within three months and our story begins.

The writing was deeply descriptive and creates a perfectly captivating atmosphere that pulls you right into the story. I flew through this one because I simply couldn't make myself stop reading. Sprinkled with commentary of the time and poking fun at the way women were treated as weak, fragile individuals, it made for a delightful read (aside from the dead kids, and there is a lot).

I want to make it very clear that the content within is extreme, graphic, and hard to read at times. This is not a book for everyone, but those who get it will love it. The way the author balances satire & humor with horrific acts of violence is commendable. From one second laughing at the inner musings of our main character, to the next moment being faced with graphic, jaw-dropping, murder scenes. Not sure how she pulled it off, but this book has the perfect blend.

This is for the feminine rage girls, the unhinged woman lovers, the women's wrong supporters. Those who read and loved:
-𝘈 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳
-𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵
-𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘺
Do not hesitate to pick up Victorian Psycho. I foresee this being one that a lot of people are talking about soon 👀

Starting off the year with a five star read! I have been so excited to read this, after loving the author’s other book- Mrs. March.
Everything about this was perfect and I did not expect the ending at all!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

“It is early fall, the cold is beginning to descend, and in three months everyone in this house will be dead” - so starts the Victorian Psycho.

Winifred Notty (along with her demon Fred) is an antiheroine whose mind is gone due to her childhood and life experiences up to the point at which we meet her. Despite her assurances that 'this will not be like the other times' our protagonist leaves a baffling and chaotic narrative dripping in blood.

The twists at the end were unexpected and this book is full of atmosphere, gore, and dark humor.

This book was unlike anything else I had read - a cross somewhere between a regency novel and Stephen King and was a fun read that I devoured quickly.

Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company | Liveright and NetGalley for this ARC- It is one I will be thinking about long past the final page.

Whoa. This was pretty wild! Winifred Notty is hired as a governess for the Pounds family, even though she’s really not qualified. The two children are horrible, but Ms. Notty is worse. Her character is a "true" psycho. She is unable to cry or feel any real human emotions. She refers to the evil inside her. She says and does horrific things, but there’s a witty, lighthearted tone to all of it. There were a couple scenes where I audibly gasped out loud.

This is a bloody, gruesome read. Somewhat a slow burn up until the violent finale, in which I was fully satisfied. This is a totally unhinged book and I can't wait to see the film adaptation.

Thank you to Netgalley and Liveright Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

a most magnificent comedy horror.

i loved the fast pace, the narrator, the jokes, the climax, the punch line of the entire book. i believe the ending was too short, maybe another chapter before the last would be good BUT i still loved it.

This book is a thrilling plunge into the demented mind of Winifred Notty. She has been hired by a family in the country to be a governess but has nothing but disdain for children and everyone in the house. She has a captivating darkness to her, and her violent and odd delusions have you questioning her state of mind. The Victorian setting adds a layer of macabre charm. This book is not for the faint-hearted. It has an unapologetic embrace of carnage, brutality, and comedic elements. It's a gothic satire with morally dubious characters that welcomes the grotesque.

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company, Liveright

3.5 rounded down to 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and Liveright Publishing for an advanced copy of Victorian Psycho in exchange for an honest review.

Victorian Psycho follows Winifred Notty, a governess for the Pounds family at Ensor House. However, she isn't a typical governess, due to some of her violent quirks...

I had trouble rating this one. On one hand, the story revolving around Winifred was very intriguing. Through various flashbacks, we learn more about her upbringing and why she is the way she is (to an extent). The author did not hold back with the violence and gore, either - lots of animal and child deaths (in detail), so this one is definitely not for everyone. The writing style was also very literary and I felt like it really put me into this period in time, which was pretty neat. It was gory but beautifully written, which was a jarring contrast that I enjoyed. The ending was also perfectly fitting for this story, and there were a couple little twists I didn't see coming at all, so it ended for me on a high note.

On the other hand, a lot of the writing was a bit on the difficult side for me to follow at times - I'm not familiar with some of the terminology used, so the dictionary was extremely helpful. However, having to do that took me out of the moment because I had to stop to figure out what some of the wording meant. And although there was a lot of darkness and violence, I found myself kind of bored. The flowery descriptions for mundane everyday activities were a little bit much for me, personally. I think about 60% in, I was hooked because that's when it all hit the fan and everything came together.

I truly wish I could give this a 3.5 rating, because I don't think it warrants 3-stars, but it's not quite a 4-star review from me either. Overall, this was a unique and dark story. It reminded me a bit of Lizzie Borden in a way, but very vaguely. It also has a Shirley Jackson vibe, with the gothic horror aspect and writing style. I do think it's worth a read, however I advise that readers be aware of how violent this story is. I'm not sure if there were any content warnings listed but just be aware that nothing and no one is safe from the violence of Winifred Notty.

*out February 4, 2025*
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito 4.5/5 💫 (CWs near the bottom!)

This book was wild from the start and I loved almost every second? I found Victorian Psycho to be dark, demented, low-key hilarious, and a bit gory.
Winifred is an excellent unreliable narrator—her visualization of what she wants to do to the people around her are fascinating! Near the end I started to question what was real and what wasn’t, but in a way that I enjoyed.
I haven’t read a lot of Victorian era governess novels, but this makes me want to pick up a few. I’m not sure what that says about me 🤣

I think my favorite part was the ending around 12 days of Christmas.
Thank you to Liveright/W. W. Norton & Company, NetGalley and the author for an Advanced Reading Copy. I loved it!

CWs:
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Gore
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Self harm
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia

Victorian Psycho
By: Virginia Feito

4 Stars

Winifred Notty is a governess like no other. Arriving at Ensor House to take care of her new charges, her imagination begins to work against her. Her real reason for being there is soon revealed in a dark way.

Wow. This book can be described from macabre to brilliant. It's dark and had a legitimate spookiness. At times, I did find myself a bit confused, but I enjoyed it. It seemed to have a bit of a comedy aspect. I found myself shocked most of the time while getting a good giggle every now and then.

Overall, this story was dark, funny, gruesome, and completely captivating.


*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

Oh bloody and gruesome hand of death, thy name is Winifred.

Oh boy. What a story this turned out to be. It’s unhinged, crude, steeped in dark humor, and unapologetically violent. And Winifred is the epitome of antihero masquerading as a demure governess. Her inner dialogue teeters on the edge of violent explosion, and the Darkness she feels at her core compels her hand into grotesque acts. As a child, she embraced, and accepted, her darkness. As an adult, she tries, but fails, to curb her compulsions. And as the novel progresses, you’re not necessarily surprised how she turns out, or by what she does. You are, however, surprised by how extreme the ending is.

Feito gives us in Winifred a “shatter the norms and give no sh*ts” protagonist, and her story isn’t for the faint of heart. She is brash, and more than matched the vulgarity of her employer, and his family and friends. And throughout everything, she never apologize who she is and what she does. She is the Victorian psycho.

I love a novel that can keep me on my toes, and shock me. It was well-written, engaging, and absolutely insane. It won’t be for everyone, but fans of unhinged stories will eat this one up.

Eh, this is almost precisely what I thought it would be from the synopsis, aside from a small twist at the very end that I did very much enjoy, but for some reason I feel vastly underwhelmed. I don't think Feito's work is for me.

This one surprised me. Much more visceral and disturbing than expected but incredibly well written. It’s difficult to discuss without getting into spoilers, but I’ll try..
Miss Notty is a nightmarish figure—intelligent, capable, un-repenting, and violent character. Told entirely through her point of view, readers are never quite sure what’s real and what’s hallucinations or daydreams (once even chastised by the narrator for believing a particularly gruesome moment possible). Breadcrumbs of the future are laid out explicitly—letting readers know the fates of those in the house fairly early on, and adding to an ever growing sense of tension and suspense.
It’s hard to call a read like this “good” or “enjoyable” but it’s extremely well-written and I’d definitely be curious to read more from this author.
Trigger warnings for: blood, body horror, violence against children, violence in general

I thought this book was very well done and I will certainly be reading more from Feito. This was a very eerie but delightful book, and it would've been more perfect to read in October to get a more fun spooky vibe but I loved this book so much.

Two of my favorite books are Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw - classic Victorian governess stories - and Victorian Psycho is a new classic for me. It’s much darker than either of those, and while neither of those lacks humor, Victorian Psycho had me literally laughing out loud. The narrator-governess, Winifred Notty, reads (in the Paris Is Burning, insult as art kind of reading) every person she meets, starting with the carriage driver to her new post.
Victorian Psycho is a perfect satire of the classic Victorian governess novels, Feito’s language at once faithful to the style but with a modern cynicism such as when the housekeeper tells Miss Notty that she has given her a small room in the back of the house as she was sure that Miss Notty would “disapprove of the unnecessary finery of the large front chambers.”
Miss Notty is an unreliable narrator, and there are times where we are not sure if what she sees is real or imagined, and she admits that to us sometimes, but Victorian Psycho isn’t about relaying the facts of the story, it’s about showing us through the lens of a disturbed mind the horrors that lie just beneath the facade of the height of polite Victorian society. And I’m here for it.

This is definitely not a story for everyone, but it was surely a story for me. It’s very dark & violent with children murders so please be aware of that going in.

I really enjoy books that focus on female characters that seem to be off their rocker so i loved this. The author did a great job at connecting everything together at the end & Winnifred, while insane, was such an interesting character.

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

I’m so disheartened to say because I really wanted to start 2025 off with a great read but this one did not work for me. In the beginning I was intrigued by the darker version of a 1800’s governess gone wrong but the farther I read the more it became clear this wouldn’t be a recommended book from me. Don’t get me wrong I love a good vengeance filled female ragey book however the minuet the FMC took this said rage out on a young innocent child (an infant no less) I just couldn’t bring myself to care any longer about her motives or support her in anyway. The story as well as a whole just had too many plot holes and inconsistencies, making the gorey deaths and horror just there for the sake being shocking . I truly hope this book when published has content warnings applied to it.

Victorian Psycho comes out February 4th, 2025. Thank you NetGalley and Liveright for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was fun! The bleak moments interspersed with humor worked for me in this one. Despite her actions, Winifred still come off as a likable character that I was rooting for. Would recommend.