“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 until her chillingly dark imagination breaches the feeble boundary of reality on Christmas morning. Wielding her signature sardonic wit and a penchant for the gorgeously macabre, Virginia Feito returns with a vengeance in Victorian Psycho.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito. Victorian Psycho was published by 4th Estate Books on 13th February 2025 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of Victorian Psycho but that has in no way influenced my review.

There I was, minding my own business on Goodreads (actually, that’s the opposite of what I was doing – I was having a nosey at what everyone else was reading!) when this book suddenly popped up. One of the horror bloggers I very much admire was RAVING about it. The version I actually saw was the US version so I went looking to see if it was being published in the UK. It was, by Fourth Estate Books, and if I loved the US cover then I was completely smitten the the UK cover (that neon green! Those blood splatters!). It was then that I realised who the author was – Virginia Feito – author of Mrs March. A book I have been desperate to read for quite some time now (also, another FABULOUS cover – go check it out!). By this point, I felt it was written in the stars. I had to read this book and I wouldn’t rest until I had a copy in my sweaty paws.

And what a bloody, macabre, twisted ride it was. Victorian Psycho is a fairly short novel at 184 pages but oh my gosh, it packs one helluva punch. Winifred Notty has arrived at Ensor House as new Governess to the Pound Family. Tasked with looking after the two rather obnoxious Pound children, Winifred spends her days entertaining herself with her own, somewhat dark thoughts. That is until Christmas morning arrives and the dark fantasies harboured by the Governess spill over into reality with gruesome results. Read with caution if you’re uncomfortable with fairly graphic violence.

Personally, I loved Victorian Psycho. Extreme, violent, totally unrelenting and wholly unapologetic. Unlike anything I’ve read before (and I’ve read a number of Victorian Gothic thrillers where the Governess dallies with the dark side). Victorian Psycho really pushes those boundaries. Feito takes her main character further than most who write in the same sub-genre would dream, and it was a nerve-shredding, exhilarating experience. The book starts three months before Christmas but in that time the reader becomes acquainted with Winifred Notty and her innermost thoughts. She’s dangerous, darkly funny, completely unpredictable and the last person suited to the role of Governess. No one, old or young, human or animal, is safe from the murderous hands of Miss Notty.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Victorian Psycho is a shocking, unsettling, creeping read that won’t let you go until you’ve turned the final page. It’s full-on, macabre and totally engrossing. I adored the feminist edge, I fell head over heels in love with Winifred (she’s wholly unlikeable and evil to the core so I may be the only one there!). The dreary Victorian setting  of Ensor House and its grounds was uncomfortably vivid, creeping under my skin and giving me chills. The supporting characters were sublime, I whole heartedly believed in them. And I was entranced by the dark, disturbing plot which had me turning the pages at a rate of knots. Oozing darkness, totally irresistible and shocking to the core. Truly a Penny Dreadful for the modern times! Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Victorian Psycho. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito was published in the UK by 4th Estate Books on 13th February 2025 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Raised in Madrid and Paris, Virginia Feito studied English and Drama at Queen Mary University of London. Her first novel, Mrs. March, was published in 2021. She writes for Vanity Fair Spain. She is kinder than her author photo suggests. She lives in Madrid.