Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Liveright (February 2025)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin
Victorian Psycho is soon to be a feature film from the horror fan-favorite A24, starring Margaret Qualley (The Substance). I heard the news before picking up Virginia Feito’s psychological and gothic horror debut, so I enjoyed envisioning Qualley as the bloodthirsty Ensor governess, Winifred Notty. This read was one of those rare instances where every responsibility of life feels like an interruption. I could not get back to it quickly enough.
Ensor House consists of dark oak and heavy drapes. Walls lined with frowning, disapproving men, and oh how Notty would love to carve them up. Ensor House’s brown churchyard rots with decayed vegetation. It reminds me of the manors in The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher, which is an appreciated nod to the genre, and creates an anticipatory, palpable sense of dread that makes this an unputdownable read.
There’s an aching darkness within Notty who struggles to diffuse violent compulsions to harm children, start fires, and set devastating traps. Notty tends to her charges, Andrew and Drusilla. Reports for dinner each evening. And she also takes advantage of the wandering eyes of Mr. Pounds to advance her revenge. Her razor-sharp charisma and quick wit, even in the bloodiest of moments, reminds me of the likeable villains like Pearl from Ti West’s film of the same name, and Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.
Notty is the unreliable narrator trope at its most unhinged. She resists an oppressive time and the faulty system in a bold, laugh-out-loud way that you can’t help but root for. Feito gives readers a psycho killer and yet, amongst the classism and manipulative, toxic men, the question remains: who is the true monster here?
I would’ve preferred visiting Notty’s childhood in flashbacks, instead of receiving all this detail in a series of reflections throughout the novel. In my opinion, this would’ve made these shocking reveals all the more unsettling. I’m eager to see how they portray Notty’s upbringing in the movie adaptation. Still, Notty’s character comes together to form this unforgettable force that rivals some of horror fiction’s most “wicked” women.
For fans of gothic horror who enjoy Daphne Du Maurier and Shirley Jackson, and who love the menacing, maniacal female protagonist in books like CJ Leeds’ Maeve Fly.
