Her first academic book, The Awkward Age in Women’s Popular Fiction, 1850-1900: Girls and the Transition to Womanhood, was published in 2004 by Oxford University Press. Her second book, The Promise of the Suburbs: A Victorian History in Literature and Culture was published by Yale University Press in 2019 and was a "Choice" Outstanding Academic Title for that year. Her new book project, The Hunt for the Lost Orchid, examines the rise of the cultural and literary obsession with orchids in the nineteenth century. Professor Bilston has also published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and two novels, Bed Rest (published in 2006 in nine languages) and Sleepless Nights (2009) with HarperCollins.

Professor Bilston teaches a wide range of courses in Victorian literature, from the 200 level (“Victorian Short Fiction”) to the 400/800 level (““British Literature of the 1890s"). She is also a Digital Humanities Fellow (AY 2021-22) and is excited to integrate new digital tools and skills into her teaching and research.  

Bilston was honored to receive the Thomas Church Brownell Prize for Teaching Excellence in 2017.