Virginia Feito: On Balancing Historical Accuracy With Fiction

Virginia Feito, raised in Madrid and Paris, studied English and drama at Queen Mary University of London and advertising at Miami Ad School. She writes regularly for Vanity Fair Spain and is the author of the acclaimed Mrs. March.

In this interview, Virginia discusses the process of writing her new horror literary novel, Victorian Psycho, how the writing process differed from her first novel, and more.

Name: Virginia Feito
Literary agent: Kent Wolf (Neon Literary)
Book title: Victorian Psycho
Publisher: Liveright
Release date: February 4, 2025
Previous titles: Mrs. March (Liveright)
Elevator pitch: Winifred Notty is hired as a governess at the stately Ensor House. Unbeknownst to everyone, she is carrying a darkness within her that she is unable (or unwilling) to control…

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What prompted you to write this book?

The voice. It came to me before anything else. It was fun and irreverent, and I really wanted to write with it. And, I guess, some kind of weird pandemic-induced rage I had to get out of my system. Which only heightened after a year of researching highly abusive, misogynistic aspects of the Victorian era.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I feel like it took eons. It took five years. There was a lot of heavy initial research (which I subsequently immediately forgot). The idea for the novel changed in terms of plot points and structure and length, but the spirit of the thing—the voice—remains. The violence and the hopelessness were somewhat toned down. The first draft was relentlessly unforgiving—my mom cried when she read it.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

My previous novel had been so easy and fast, I was frustrated this one took so much longer. I eventually learned to believe it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of a writer’s career, when they take a little longer to publish the next one (I mean I hope so, but I guess we’ll see? So, I learned nothing, apparently).

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

The historical research aspect of it was somewhat surprising in several ways—I found it all so fascinating I felt frustrated when I couldn’t use all of it. And then I kind of obsessed over etymology and historical accuracy to the point where I couldn’t write a simple sentence without triple-checking multiple sources. I had to learn to let go in the interest of rhythm, voice, and fiction.

Then once I finished writing the very first draft, I was shocked when early readers didn’t immediately love it. I hope I’ve now learned to listen to advice‚—sometimes a suggestion isn’t as frightening as it seems and doesn’t necessarily require setting the entire thing on fire or try to get out of it by writing a whole other novel from scratch (which I also did). I guess overall I was surprised by how insane I went with this book.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

Honestly, an experience. One that will linger. Ideally one of sick delight.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Write whatever you feel motivated to write on any given day, even if it’s not what you’re “supposed” to be writing (whatever that means).