The Lost Orchid
The Lost Orchid by Sarah Bilston is one of 2026's most credible books, appearing on 1 of the year's most respected lists, including The Economist, for a Consensus Score of 18 out of 100.
Appears on these lists
Our take
AI-draftedBilston's history of Victorian orchid mania is really two intertwined stories: an increasingly deranged market for a single rare flower, and the ecological and human cost of the expeditions sent to feed it. What distinguishes it from a straightforward plant-hunting narrative is the framing around violence and plunder rather than adventure, the cattleya's rediscovery decades after its initial find is treated as a story about extraction and empire, not romance.
In the press
“Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.”
Kirkus Reviews“Enthralling, authoritative, and discerning”
Foreword Reviews
How the Consensus Score is calculated
Our Consensus Score is our own transparent editorial metric — not a user rating. It weighs each list by the credibility of its source, how recent the listing is, and any award status. Here is the full breakdown.
| Source | Authority | Recency | Award | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Economist | 0.95 | 0.85 | 1.00× | 0.81 |
| Weighted sum → Score | 0.81 → 18 | |||
Similar consensus books
Because they appear on some of the same lists.
Frequently asked
What lists is The Lost Orchid on?
The Lost Orchid appears on 1 list in our 2026 corpus, including The Economist.
What is its Consensus Score?
The Lost Orchid has a Consensus Score of 18 out of 100, our transparent editorial measure of how many credible lists agree on it.