he Victorian Psycho is a chilling psychological thriller that pulls you deep into the darkness of Victorian England, where the line between sanity and madness becomes dangerously blurred. This gripping novel, full of tension and suspense, takes readers on a journey through the murky depths of the human mind, making it a must-read for fans of gothic horror and psychological suspense.

The story revolves around Winifred Notty, whose troubled mental state is both intriguing and deeply unsettling. As the protagonist grapples with their inner demons, the story brilliantly explores themes of identity, perception, and the Victorian-era treatment of mental illness. The contrast between the outwardly polite society and the grim realities of the protagonist’s mind is both haunting and thought-provoking. What makes The Victorian Psycho particularly engaging is its rich atmosphere. The author expertly captures the essence of Victorian London—its foggy streets, oppressive atmosphere, and the eerie sense of isolation that permeates the story. It’s a world where societal expectations clash with the harsh realities of mental health, and where nothing is ever as it seems.

The Victorian Psycho is an exceptional blend of historical fiction, psychological thriller, and gothic horror. The haunting atmosphere, rich character development, and intricate exploration of mental illness make this a standout read. It’s a dark, twisted, and immersive experience that will leave you questioning the nature of reality long after you finish the final page.

I probably would not have read this book if I didn’t receive it as an ARC. It was dark (to be expected), gory, but also funny at times. I do wish readers received more backstory about the main character but this may have been intentional to keep her mysterious!

Thank you Liveright for my free ARC of Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito — available now!

» READ IF YOU «
🩸 can't resist a witty, irreverent read full of gore and chaos
💃 love an absolutely unhinged female main character
🔪 ever fantasized about murdering your employer (we listen and we don't judge, babe)

» SYNOPSIS «
Winifred Notty makes her way to Ensor House, destined to labor as the new governess for the horrible Pounds children. Outwardly prim and proper, our girl Winny is hiding the fact that she's absolutely teetering on the edge of sanity, what with her violent fantasies and a (honestly well-deserved) loathing for the Pounds family. With Christmas approaching, Winifred starts to crumble, and she absolutely cannot WAIT to gift the inhabitants of Ensor House exactly what they each deserve.

» REVIEW «
Hello, I want to be Winifred when I grow up. Or Virginia Feito. Or maybe Virginia's best friend? Hello? Virginia? Are you accepting bestie applications???

Listen, this novel is an absolute masterclass in hilarity-horror. It is sooo incredibly smart, well-written, and witty, but also endlessly entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny the entire way through. Winifred is one of the most unforgettable protagonists I've come across in ages, what with her sardonic wit and disturbing inner monologue. We can all relate though, to a degree? Or is that just me....

I can't fail to mention how excellently rendered all the gothic Victorian elements are, and the prose itself is so sharp and evocative. Personally, I think this novel is a perfect example of combining horror with humor. The story is fast-paced, relatively short, and absolutely wild. If dark humor and unhinged heroines are your thing, Victorian Psycho is one thousand percent a must-read for you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to the publishers for the copy! Victorian Psycho was such a highly anticipated book for me — with the simmering eeriness and governess protagonist in the likes of Jane Eyre, it certainly delivers an air of enigmatic horror that both mystifies and entrances the reader.

I did feel, however, that the writing was a bit lackluster at times, which was disappointing seeing how there were other moments of vibrant descriptions and rhythmic syntax. One thing I really enjoyed was that Virginia Feito doesn't shy away from imbuing sardonicism into her gory scenes. Like squeezing in acid to cut through fat, the cryptic humor slices through the violent tension and only strengthens the illustrations further. I laughed so hard towards the end when she tells Mrs. Pounds that she is in fact a good governess and that her children are just incredibly stupid.

I also really liked the slight commentary on children and how so much focus is placed on them at a young age, yet no care is given to them during their actual life. Feito writes, "Why care about people when they're small if no one cares about them when they're grown?" I thought that was a brilliant addition to give greater complexity to Winifred's character.

Overall, I enjoyed this more towards its end and wish that we didn't have to wait until the last quarter of the book to feel entirely captivated. I think Feito creates excellent premises, but I would love to see her work towards sharpening her execution of these ideas

Sometimes, you just 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 when a book is going to be your kind of twisted. The cover, the premise—it all whispers promises of creeping dread and elegant depravity. And let me tell you, Victorian Psycho DELIVERS.

Winifred Notty steps into Ensor House as the perfect governess, poised and proper. She tutors. She curtsies. She makes the occasional joke about eating children. But under that polished exterior? A woman with 𝙣𝙤 patience for the disgusting little lives of the Pounds family or the absurd rules of Victorian society. She waits, watching, knowing that Christmas will bring more than just festive cheer—it will bring 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.

One of my favorite aspects was how proper the writing felt—graceful, refined, and almost detached—which only made the shocking acts of violence hit harder.I’ve seen some criticism that Winifred seemingly and unrealistically “gets away” with so much, but that’s kind of the point. This is 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚—a sharp, vicious reflection of high society’s greed, vanity, and obliviousness. The fact that no one even notices their own children being swapped out? Hilarious. 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

What I loved most was Winifred herself. She sees the absurdity of Victorian expectations, calls it out with cutting wit, and refuses to be controlled. The parallels between her story and themes of greed, gluttony, and false authority (especially from men) were chef’s kiss. And that twist? I was 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜.

As a plot-based reader, I don’t need deep character arcs or a neatly structured narrative—I just need a ride. And this book gave me exactly that. Horror doesn’t have to fit into a box, and Victorian Psycho is proof that modern horror is evolving into something sharper, more unhinged and freeform. And the twist?? Delicious. Fred gave 𝙯𝙚𝙧𝙤 f***s and lived her life for the plot, and honestly? I think a lot of women will have an absolute blast living vicariously through her chaos.

ARC provided by W. W. Norton & Company

A woman, a knife, and a mind unraveling—Victorian Psycho is as darkly intoxicating as it is unsettling. Virginia Feito, the brilliant mind behind Mrs. March, returns with a gothic psychological thriller that slithers under your skin and refuses to let go.

Set against the backdrop of rigid Victorian society, the novel follows a woman teetering on the edge of sanity, consumed by obsession, repression, and the eerie confines of her own mind. What begins as a quiet, simmering tension soon escalates into something far more sinister, as the protagonist’s grip on reality slips and her darkest urges take hold. Feito masterfully blends psychological horror with gothic atmosphere, crafting a narrative as elegant as it is disturbing.

The novel is an unsettling character study, peeling back the layers of its protagonist’s psyche in a way that feels both intimate and terrifying. The prose is lush, immersive, and tinged with an eerie beauty that lulls you into a false sense of security before plunging you into the depths of madness. Every shadow feels alive, every whispered thought dangerous. Feito has a way of making the mundane feel menacing, turning polite society into a pressure cooker where the inevitable explosion is as shocking as it is inevitable.

Victorian Psycho is a slow descent into darkness, the kind of novel that makes you question whether the true horror lies in the supernatural—or in the human mind itself. Fans of gothic fiction, psychological thrillers, and female-driven horror will devour this one. Haunting, twisted, and utterly unshakable, Feito has delivered another masterpiece.

A creepy and unhinged imagining of the anti Mary Poppins: a darkly funny, disgusting and shocking story I couldn’t put down. You’ll find yourself shaking your head, laughing nervously, rereading that last sentence to make sure you got it right, and then plowing on to get to the next intense moment. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Oh what a fun book! Such a slow burn until a blood bath at the end! For fans of strong female lead gothic horror novels. Highly recommend.

It took me awhile to write this review but I loved the arc of this book, it was lovely, creepy and so very american psycho vibes I loved every second of it. The snippets of backstory we got were perfect and the ending was exactly what should've happened to this insane nanny

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.