Week 6 Review: Victorian Psycho

From Goodreads:

From the acclaimed author of Mrs. March comes the riveting tale of a bloodthirsty governess who learns the true meaning of vengeance.

Virginia Feito's Mrs. March was hailed as "a brilliant debut … [by] a writer who keeps pace with the grandees she invokes" (Sarah Ditum, Guardian)—from Daphne Du Maurier and Shirley Jackson to Patricia Highsmith. Now, Feito returns with her "silver-polish sentences and her eerie psychological acumen" (Constance Grady, Vox) to unleash an entirely new antihero on us all.

Grim Wolds, England: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess—she'll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But long, listless days spent within the estate's dreary confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family—Mr. Pounds can't keep his eyes off Winifred's chest, and Mrs. Pounds takes a sickly pleasure in punishing Winifred for her husband's wandering gaze. Compounded with her disdain for the entitled Pounds children, Winifred finds herself struggling at every turn to stifle the violent compulsions of her past. French tutoring and needlework are one way to pass the time, as is admiring the ugly portraits in the gallery … and creeping across the moonlit lawns. …

Patience. Winifred must have patience, for Christmas is coming, and she has very special gifts planned for the dear souls of Ensor House. Brimming with sardonic wit and culminating in a shocking conclusion, Victorian Psycho plunges listeners into the chilling mind of an iconic new literary psychopath.

My Review:
Man, this book was something else! Winifred was so off-putting, she is after all, a Victorian psycho, and we knew going in that there was going to end with a lot of spilled blood, but oh, being in her head in the build up towards that? It was so creepy, and so good!

We know right from the beginning that it's going to end in a bloodbath. So seeing how this family treats her, while we're in her head, knowing that she doesn't operate under normal societal rules? While also getting flashbacks of her past, and how her mother was like, and her stepfather, and all the events that lead her to this point.

I'm not sure how i feel about the mistress of Ensor House. The way she treats Winifred is understandable, but that doesn't mean it's right. I mean, it does look like Winifred is coming onto her husband. But making her sleep in the kennels outside? Yeah, I'd prefer to sleep on my bed, and have the doggies join me! Because while they could cuddle, it is winter, that was pretty cruel. 

It was strange, but there were moments of random violence, and it's like, nobody is noticing that these people are missing? Sure, on the whole they were servants (plus a noble baby, but she replaced that baby) but wouldn't at least the other servants notice? I mean, between the first death and Christmas, there is a decent chunk of time. 

That ending though? It's left me a bit unnerved, because on one hand, she did face justice, not that she really cared. But on the other, there was the whole things with her charge and that reveal there, and the way that ending, yeah, that's like a little itch that I just can't scratch because the book is over, you know? 

This was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read more by Virginia Feito! 

Author: Virginia Feito
Read: February 6th, 2025 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a Historical Fiction 2025 Book, SAC 2025 Book and a Sophomore Challenge Book! 
Publisher: Recorded Books
Published: February 4th 2025

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars