Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is the story of a governess, Winifred Notty, in Victorian England. The story opens as she arrives at her new post, teaching the son and daughter of the Pounds family, but it’s immediately clear that something is not right with Winifred.
Told in first person from Winifred’s point of view, the reader is admitted to the strange, and unhinged thoughts of Winifred, and yet we only start to understand just how damaged she is as the story continues to unfold and she reveals more and more details of her past.
While violent, and gruesome, this book also had an air of comedy about it, due to the inner monologue of the main character. Usually I would have found some of the situations in this book disturbing in the extreme, but in this book there were times I couldn’t help but laugh.
I will put out this warning, if you are e trembly averse to animal or infant, or child death, it may be a good idea to avoid this book. I don’t care to read them myself, but I managed to get through it, probably because the internal thoughts of the main character made it feel almost comical in a way.
I have seen this book referred to as Jane Eyre meets American Psycho, and while I haven’t read the latter, Jane Eyre is one of my favourite novels, and while the stories are obviously very different, I can kind of see where the comparison comes from. I got Jane Eyre vibes from the setting, the point of view, and the way the Winifred occasionally broke the fourth wall to speak directly to the reader.
If you’re looking for an unhinged, violent, yet somehow comical story, give this book a try.
Life, Tea, and Everything 