Welcome to Litsy!

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A spectacular short horror frenzy! Don't cut your teeth on this one if you're not used to the genre. It was the perfect blend of disgusting, horrific, and diabolical. It was genius.

Small spoiler trigger warning in the comments, but it might be a deal breaker for some readers.

#Read2025

Finished in one sitting Thursday night at Silent Book Club & have to give it a pick although it was more satire & gleeful gore than creepy horror. Governess Winifred Notty is quite a character & the title becomes more than apt when she starts working for the Pounds family. Not for the squeamish, the gyro I picked up for my dinner sat untouched once I got into the story. 😱 I liked the twist & turns & very dark humor of this quick read.

Continuing the gothic horror vibes after What Moves the Dead with Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito.

"Bonkers" is a good adjective for this shortish novel. "Brutal" and "bizarre" also come to mind, as do some words that don't start with B, like "fun," "propulsive," and "gory." Quite an apt choice for spooky month.

Coincidentally, I'm also re-reading The Shining right now, so for a brief period, I was simultaneously reading two novels with main characters named Winifred (two quite different Winifreds).

Getting in the spirit of the season, with a seasonal spiced pumpkin cider, a seasonal book, a year-round cat begging for my attention, and badgers and wolverines battling it out (college football) in the background. (And a spouse who keeps interrupting me to say, "Whoa! Look at this! Look at how spread out they are across the field! I totally thought he would have gotten more yards." I might have to go hide.)

Posting a book review at this moment in time feels stupid and pointless, but I finished a book today, so here we are.

This was crazy, unhinged, and, yes, psycho!

I giggled several times (is there something wrong with me??) during this short, well-narrated audiobook.

How do you even review a book like this? Part of me feels that the less you know going in, the better. The title acts as a trigger warning, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor a couple of times because things did get, for lack of a better word, psychotic.

It caught my eye at the book store and the quirky chapter headings sold me completely (my favourite being "XXVI. Is Fraught with Some Danger, but for Whom, the Reader Must Determine.")

This was . . . different! The name is certainly fitting, because this lady was all kinds of crazy! I listened to the audio and loved how she would just slip some gruesome or outrageous statement into what started out as a normal sentence. I liked the uniqueness of it. I will definitely watch the movie when it comes out.

A low pick but definitely a different read. Some humor, some gore, a bit of creepiness and one weird story. Ms. Notty arrives at Endsor house to care for the Pounds children but she obviously has other intentions. I liked the Victorian aspect of the story and Winifred Notty is one crazy character. I heard there is a movie being made. I‘m definitely interested to see how they adapt this story!!

Virginia Feito's horror/thriller book, "VICTORIAN PSYCHO," is officially getting a movie adaptation!

A24 is developing the adaptation, and Maika Monroe is set to star in the lead role!

When the adaptation was announced, it was revealed that Margaret Qualley was supposed to play the lead role, but she's since been replaced by Maika Monroe!
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Image Credits:
Virginia Feito's Photo by Pilar Hormaechea
#VictorianPsycho #VirginiaFeito ????

Creepy with plenty of gore. I‘m not the biggest fan of gore but I liked the creepy.

Loved this. Dark, disturbing, gory, unhinged.
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Also mailed #StaycationinTimeSwap #SITS and #CoffeeBeanBookClub #cbbc (along with some extra goodies for your birthday, Nicole!! 🎂💝) today!

This is a very unhinged and gory horror novella. There is a mix of horrors of the Victorian age and actual gruesome murder - written in extreme detail. Both entertaining and disgusting. This would make a great movie - my recent watch of The Ugly Stepsister on Shudder made me want more historical horror. 5⭐️
#bookspinbingo #2!

This. Was . Hilarious!!!!! This was Otessa Moshfegh and all her gruesomeness but with humor. Miss Notty is hired to be the governess at the Pound estate and nothing will ever be same again. She has a darkness inside her that is just itching to get out. One would be afraid for the family of the Pound estate until you meet them. Then, maybe, you‘re rooting for Miss Notty. Litsy this was great but for a lot of you it might not be. Take care. Pick!!!

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I took this as satire and it worked for me. Beguiling and dark; gruesome and funny. A weirdly fun, fast read!

Boy, I wish I hadn't forced myself to finish this! Real no thank you hours!

🫣 What wild satirical ride on the Victorian Horror Bus! Imagine the Bronte sisters unleashed & unhinged.

Loved it as a spoof! 😳

What? No! She couldn't possibly!

Just absolutely spot on horror-satire. Recommending this one to all the unhinged girlies with a twinkle in my eye!

I loved this! It‘s funny and vicious and violent and so tongue in cheek that I couldn‘t stop listening to the audiobook. The author names all the characters the funniest names - Ms. Manners, Mr. Pounds, etc - and it just felt very Dickensian. It‘s also really short and definitely could be read/listened to in a day. Highly recommend! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

What an unhinged governess! Quick horror novella featuring Winifred who is a little more murderous than a governess perhaps should be. I loved the underlying themes of class and what it meant/means to be a woman both in current day and in the past. It‘s just a wonderfully dark ride.

This book was….weird. Which is part of the reason I‘m picking it. It was almost like satirical horror? Is that a thing? Honestly not sure, I‘m not a horror queen myself. Easy to read though, laugh-out-loud in some parts as well! (12)
⭐️: 3.5/5

One of my favorite reads this year!

It's a short little horror read that is gruesome and funny all at the same time. The writing is perfect for this story, and the creepy atmosphere left me unhinged, which I love because it makes the read more intense.

There are lots of triggers in this one, though, so it's definitely not for everyone. But for my fellow horror loving, slightly demented readers, you should read this one. 😁🖤

So creepy!!!!!

A quick read full of vivid imagery and gallows humor. The narrator is Winifred Notty, basically a 19th century woman version of Patrick Bateman, whose psychopathy is kinda relatable. lol Classism, sexism, child abandonment, child abuse, child murder, using an outhouse in winter and having to wipe with newspaper, would drive anyone mad, right? Right?! 😉😈

CW: graphic descriptions of violence and murder of animals, babies and children.

Picked up Victorian Psycho from the library and just started reading it - I‘m a sucker for a governess in a creepy setting - and I observed there are black-and-white illustrations included, but no credit for their source. Anyone know where to find those if not on the copyright page or on the inside of the back jacket?

Adding another one to my TBR!

With a fun Victorian style, this gruesome little horror novel makes for a quick & darkly entertaining read! Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House to act as the governess for the two Pounds children— but it‘s quickly clear her past may hide the real reason she took the job. It‘s a dark story with some black humor & a “naughty” sense of fun. Some parts follow predictable paths & it‘s filled with deaths (including infants, so beware) but original!

I enjoyed this tale a lot. It was as funny as it was depraved. A typical novel about a governess is turned upside down into twisted revenge. Feito's keen use of imagery was as excellent as it was disgusting in parts. 4.5 stars.

An amusing, twisted, sanguinary, little tale with plenty to say about class, this is a must-read.

This book, while dark and definitely gruesome in many parts, was also written really well and was absolutely hilarious throughout most of the book. I read this one in one sitting and I really enjoyed the writing style of the author and how the whole book took on an almost poetic feel due to the descriptions and language that was used. Definitely an amazing horror book, and one I will read again.

“The shade is 'Mummy Brown.' If mummified Egyptians had known they were fated to be pulverized to produce an umber for such a mediocre painter, they surely would have chosen other burial options.“ 😆

“Her left eye wanders, and I wish I were possessed of a compass to determine to which cardinal direction the eye points most often.”

I almost spat out my drink 😂😂😂

I got this book as an ARC in a giveaway and decided to read it