Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Published by W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date: January 9, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Horror, Literary
Bookshop
Apparently, this is Victorian era week at the blog. On Monday it was a novel about Oscar Wilde’s family. Today I’m going with a female serial killer. I’m not sure which is more disturbing, the novel, Victorian Psycho, or the fact that I read it in an afternoon and delighted in its gruesome darkness. Written in the style and format of Victorian times, much like Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, this is a different take on the “poor governess” tale.
Winifred arrives at Ensor House three months before Christmas. She is to be the governess for a little boy and his older sister. Their parents, the Pounds, are especially concerned that the children be instilled with a strict moral code and Victorian values. All of which Winifred is willing to espouse and follow on the outside, but her internal dialogue is an entirely different story. Sometimes she slips and says morbid or inappropriate things, but a demure smile and correction puts her employers at ease. Except when Mrs. Pounds catches her husband’s roving eye on Winifred’s bosom one too many times.
What makes Victorian Psycho so Gothically fabulous is that Winifred’s interior dialogue is that of a modern woman. A woman on a mission forced into the demeanor of an obsequious servant. She walks a fine line between holding her tongue and giving voice to the violent thoughts percolating inside her. She wastes no time in making friends with the other servants. Instead, she explores the house at night learning it’s every room, even those unknown to the family, and lies in wait for the large group of guests arriving on Christmas Eve. When her fun will begin.
I don’t know what kind of mood you’d have to be in to read this book but if your mind and mood take the same quirky turns mine do then even the bloodlust that soaks the pages of Victorian Psycho is not enough to negate everything that is right about the book, including the morbidly funny humor and sly theme. It’s completely unexpected, wildly creative, and less than 200 pages. I tore through the book in an afternoon. The writing and the author’s vision are such there was nothing left to do but surrender to them and marvel at this deranged, unique tale.
I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org where your purchases support local bookstores. I will earn a commission (at no cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase.
Leave a Reply