Sarah Bilston's Avatar

Sarah Bilston

@sbilston.bsky.social

Victorianist, Professor of English Lit at Trinity College, Hartford. Born and raised in Suffolk, UK.

23 Followers  |  21 Following  |  12 Posts  |  Joined: 22.11.2024  |  2.0148

Latest posts by sbilston.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
AHS LIVE: The Lost Orchid - American Horticultural Society with Dr. Sarah Bilston, author and professor, Trinity CollegeThursday, October 9, 2025 from 7-8 p.m. ETVirtual$15 AHS members/$20 non-membersThis program is approved for 1 CEU with the Association of ...

ahsgardening.org/ahs-live-the...

01.10.2025 21:52 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

A mystery orchid. A forgotten archive. Victorian obsession.

Join us 18 Nov, 6pm-8pm as author @sbilston.bsky.social uncovers the strange tale of Cattleya labiata and its archival secrets. An atmospheric dive into plant hunting & archive sleuthing.

Book here: buff.ly/S3ATweG

26.09.2025 16:22 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

πŸ“£ Only 15 days left to submit to the fall issue. Bring us your best! Submit here: www.cherryroadreview.com/submit

01.08.2025 12:04 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Only one month left to submit to the inaugural issue! Submissions will close August 15, 2025. Details here: www.cherryroadreview.com/submit

#literarymagazine #litmag

14.07.2025 23:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Submissions are now open for our inaugural Fall 2025 issue. We welcome submissions of previously unpublished fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. Submit by August 15, 2025, 11:59 PM ET. 🌸

16.06.2025 15:52 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Cherry Road by the wonderful Roland High. Submit your writing here: www.cherryroadreview.com/submit

06.07.2025 01:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Sarah Bilston, "The Lost Orchid: A Story of Victorian Plunder and Obsession" (Harvard UP, 2025) - New Books Network

Thanks to Miranda Melcher for a really probing, detailed interview on The Lost Orchid for the New Books Network @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social

11.06.2025 18:00 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm a bit thrilled about this! The image, which I discuss in The Lost Orchid, was made in the 1820s. It's the first (European) illustration of an orchid that would obsess generations - sort of a botanical pin-up bsky.app/profile/nybo...

27.05.2025 16:30 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm a bit thrilled about this! The image, which I discuss in The Lost Orchid, was made in the early 1820s. It's the first (European) illustration of an orchid that would obsess generations - sort of a botanical pinup #LostOrchid

27.05.2025 16:28 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
How Orchid Hunters Complicate Colonial Narratives They were sent to exploit foreign lands, but they were victims of exploitation themselves.

Many historians "have come to see colonizers as oppressors and colonized peoples as oppressed," Sarah Bilston writes. But Victorian orchid hunters are not easy to place in this dichotomy:

18.05.2025 14:45 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
Post image

In 1818, a curious root arrived in a small English village, tuckedβ€”seemingly by accidentβ€”in a packing case mailed from Brazil.

"The story seemed odd to me: surely someone knew how it got into the packing case?"

We sat down with Sarah Bilston, author of The Lost Orchid: tinyurl.com/38k4ky27

15.05.2025 18:57 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/su...

14.05.2025 02:34 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

This is how orchid-hunting was represented in 19th cent British lit: brave hunter goes on expedition, pushes through undergrowth and at last, gasp, there it is. Letters show that isn't what happened at all - hunters found knowledgeable locals who showed them the way #lostorchid

06.05.2025 14:57 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This may well cross (actually, march all over) the showing-off line... but if you are looking for a Mother's Day gift, The Lost Orchid has a Kirkus starred review - www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

05.05.2025 14:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Sarah Bilston, β€œThe Lost Orchid” Join local professor Sarah Bilston as she launches her brand new book exploring the history behind the search for one of the most sought-after flow...

I'm so looking forward to speaking about my new book, The Lost Orchid, at RJ Julia in Middletown on Tuesday, 6pm! events.wesleyan.edu/event/13697-...

05.05.2025 13:41 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Obviously I’m biased but I do think this would make a great gift for an orchid-lover - no ice cubes needed! #lostorchid

13.04.2025 15:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
A look at cultural manias from Liszt and orchids to the Beatles and beyond This hour on The Colin McEnroe Show, we explore a centuries-long flower frenzy and modern-day fanaticism to uncover why we are so drawn to being "totally obsessed."

Had a lot of fun talking about Orchidomania (and cultural manias in general) with Colin McEnroe today -

www.ctpublic.org/show/the-col...

01.04.2025 20:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Curious Case of the Lost Orchid: An Interview with Sarah Bilston β€” Harvard University Press In 1818, a curious root arrived in a small English village, tuckedβ€”seemingly by accidentβ€”in a packing case mailed from Brazil. The amateur botanist who cultivated it soon realized that he had somethin...

One month until The Lost Orchid is published, can hardly believe it. Meanwhile, here's some pretty pictures of orchids and a Q&A:

www.hup.harvard.edu/features/the...

01.04.2025 20:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

This is the gorgeous cover of my new book, by the amazing designer Gabriele Wilson! And I just learned The Lost Orchid got a Kirkus starred review, so I’m going to sit here staring at it

04.03.2025 18:26 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@sbilston is following 20 prominent accounts