Molly Foust reviewed Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Hysterical!
5 stars
A few years back, I was moved by MIchel Faber's fabulous The Crimson Petal and the Black (2002), which also concerned a vulnerable yet brave victim of Victorian hypocrisy trying to make her way in a revolting, terrifying world of misogyny and classism. Reading modern accounts from that dreaded time might be more pertinent and certainly less tedious than rifling through hundreds of pages of Dickensian caricatures, the sentimental and grandiose poetry, the barely rebellious heroines. This short and uproarious bit of black comedy reinforced my conviction that the Victorians are more fun to make fun of from the distance of now than to meet them on their own terms. As the screw turned another 180 degrees into an absolute blood bath worthy of the Game of Thrones, I felt an enormous satisfaction and vindication. For years and years I read of governess types, from Jane Eyre to Maria von …
A few years back, I was moved by MIchel Faber's fabulous The Crimson Petal and the Black (2002), which also concerned a vulnerable yet brave victim of Victorian hypocrisy trying to make her way in a revolting, terrifying world of misogyny and classism. Reading modern accounts from that dreaded time might be more pertinent and certainly less tedious than rifling through hundreds of pages of Dickensian caricatures, the sentimental and grandiose poetry, the barely rebellious heroines. This short and uproarious bit of black comedy reinforced my conviction that the Victorians are more fun to make fun of from the distance of now than to meet them on their own terms. As the screw turned another 180 degrees into an absolute blood bath worthy of the Game of Thrones, I felt an enormous satisfaction and vindication. For years and years I read of governess types, from Jane Eyre to Maria von Trapp, who passively waited for someone to marry them while lovingly mothering their charges. Sure things got out of hand here and there, but none of these simpering lasses could stare down Ms. Notty. Disgustingly gorey, unflinchingly brutal, finally a governess that really gives that society what it had coming. Absolutely punk rock black humor.
