“It’s crushed in paint. It’s papered on the walls. Everywhere, death,” (Feito 1).
Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House to act as governess for Mr. and Mrs. Pounds’ two children, Drusilla and Andrew. She will tell them bedtime stories, teach them French and how to act in proper society, and only joke about eating them. But as she gets to know the Pounds family during her employment, it gets harder for Winifred to keep the promises she made to herself when taking the job. And then there is the Darkness within her that threatens to seep through as more and more of the staff at Ensor House go missing, leading up to an unforgettable Christmas morning for Winifred, the Pounds’, and their many wealthy guests.
I heard about the movie for Victorian Psycho first, and once I knew it starred scream queen Maika Monroe and Jason Isaacs, I knew I had to read the book first. I somehow lucked out on snagging a copy from the library before the holds list became too long. Perhaps because the book builds up to and the main action of it takes place on Christmas, the queue for the book will be busier then. If you are looking for a creepy read for a cold winter’s night, I think Victorian Psycho will hit the spot!
Victorian Psycho was an interesting read, but I know it won’t be for everyone. Even I had to puzzle out my feelings towards the book when I started it, and it wasn’t until halfway through I made my mind up about it. I enjoyed it, and think Feito does a great job of paying homage to the old Gothic tales of governesses sent to wealthy manors and discovering all types of dark secrets within. The book is formatted and written in similar style to a Classic Gothic novel, including a few illustrations throughout that added to the atmosphere, but there’s no doubt it’s a modern novel. Early on, Winifred makes note after shaking the hand of one of the staff at Ensor house that she was certain it was “a hand that had never held a penis” (paraphrased, I had to return the book to the library). There are similar moments like that throughout the book, and some shocking gore and readers will decide for themselves whether that modernization heightens or hinders their enjoyment of the novel. For me it was fun, and I was curious to see what other things Winifred might say.
I thought Winifred was a great protagonist to follow. I would have liked a bit more revelation onto herself and her character in the end, but I think the book being so short is also a nod to penny dreadfuls and serials of the time. Since we follow Winifred we only get what she is willing to tell us, and there’s a lot she is willing to tell and a lot that gets muddy when she recounts it. I really enjoyed her voice in all her strange darkness. There was also a moment near the end of the first part of the novel that I audibly swore at because I could not predict what did happen, but it was a perfect clue for how the novel was going to end. I thought Ensor House was very atmospheric and felt that Feito really nailed the Gothic aesthetic when writing this.
Perfect for a cold wintery night, perhaps even Christmas Eve, Victorian Psycho is a delightful little horror and I can’t wait to see how the movie lives up to it!
Publication: January 9 2025
Publisher: Liveright
Pages: 208 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Gothic
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤.5
Summary:
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.
Sarah O'Connor 