Victorian Psycho – Old Paper & Cats, Reviews by S. Hargrave

Summer Cold

It’s been one of those messy, chaotic weeks. Lots of phone calls, lots of errands shoved into not a lot of time. Reading has gotten shoved into the backburner, and we haven’t had a lot of time to spend just quietly on the sofa together. That lack of time and reading time leads to me not sleeping right and then it’s a cascade of problems with concentration and work flow.

This time? The endpoint is actually a summer cold. I’ve spent a long day on the sofa feeling sorry for myself and wondering how I can stop myself from getting so rundown in the future. There are so many things going on that just make that seem like too much to ask for. But I have to do something differently, because I’m not twenty and severely depressed anymore and this kind of punishment is not sustainable.

A calico tabby lies with her belly against Victorian Psycho — a small, hardcover book by Virginia Feito.

A Note on the Design

I first read about Virginia Feito’s Victorian Psycho in the Briefly Noted section of the New Yorker. The review was a good one and the description was compelling. A female-written horror novel set in the Victorian era that did not shy away from gore and was a fast-paced read. I ordered it, I read it, and well, I have mixed feelings about it.

Two cats lie on leopard-print cushions. Between them is a hardcover book, Victorian Psycho.

What I don’t have mixed feelings about? The gorgeous book design! Beth Steidle pulled out all of the stops in that respect, from the carefully chosen typeface to the inclusion of plates and the ornate drop caps. There is also a separate beautiful and antique font that announces chapters and the little chapter summaries popular once in Victorian literature. I loved the design. It did exactly what it was supposed to — took the reader back to a different time.

A big-eared tabby cat sits beside an open book. The book is open to Chapter IX. The summary reads 'Of childhood and laudanum' and the chapter begins with an ornate dropped capital M.

Grating Problems

The book’s design was lovely, but I found that the writing wasn’t quite as lovely. I really wanted to like this book, but I ended up getting caught on the various historical inaccuracies, the twists of the plot that didn’t quite work, and the lack of understanding of some of subtleties of Victorian culture and customs.

Granted, my lovely spouse and I have studied a lot of Victorian literature, and in her case, it was part of her degree, so admittedly, I noticed more of these problems than the average reader would. I can forgive that, but I found the pure implausibility is what really led me to decide that I couldn’t like the book as much as I wanted to.

On the cover of Victorian Psycho, a painting of a young girl in a lace collar looks outwards from behind bright yellow dripping font.

Something to be Said for Entertainment

There is definitely something to be said when it comes to entertainment value. Victorian Psycho was a very quick read that moved at a high pace and was worth the time it took to get through it. I was amused. It was an interesting yearn.

But it’s important to recognize that this is where the value of the book lies. As soon as I started to think about greater meanings and what this book may or may not be saying about class or hereditary violence, it spoiled the magic of just an afternoon spent reading a book. So, a word of advice: just enjoy the spooky, blood-soaked ride this book takes you on, and don’t expect anything but that.

A tortoiseshell cat sits awkwardly on leopard print cushions, looking over its shoulder at the book Victorian Psycho.

New Sofa

At least a freshly reupholstered sofa means that it is a much pleasant experience to sit on it all day. That is until I get so many cats on top of me that I cannot move and cannot get comfortable either. I appreciate their very palpable concern for their mother, but I wish they would realize that it is far too warm for this many snuggles.