The disturbing delight of ‘Victorian Psycho’ by Virginia Feito
By Sophie Herron | March 13If you’ve ever had the urge to respond to the absurdities of your reality with complete carnage, “Victorian Psycho” by Virginia Feito is the perfect book for you. Even if your impulses are less than violent, the elegantly written prose and intriguing psyche of protagonist Winifred Notty will leave you craving to see her world in all its inglorious depravity. The novel follows Miss Notty beginning her service as a governess at Ensor House. While tutoring the two spoiled Pounds children, Drusilla and Andrew, and tolerating the abuses of Mr. and Mrs. Pounds, she finds it progressively more difficult to contain her inner darkness, which she occasionally refers to as “Fred.” Readers be warned, this novel is not for the faint of heart. The first chapter explains that “in three months everyone in this house will be dead.” At just over 200 pages, the book rapidly uncovers Miss Notty’s sordid past while guiding readers through a vortex of sex, gore and malice before leading to the ultimate conclusion. Although the extreme violence feels overwhelming at times, Feito’s playful writing transforms the shocking carnage into an amusing catharsis rather than a tragedy.
