Over the summer, Bethel College hired Esther Reilly, the new Visiting Professor of English for the 2026-2027 school year. Reilly’s primary teaching focus is Victorian British literature and composition. She completed her Master of Philosophy in Children’s Literature and PhD in English literature from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. Reilly’s classes focus on critical thinking, academic writing and close reading. She wants to help students grow confident in reading, writing and researching.
“Esther has been fantastic in my Major British Authors class this semester,” said sophomore Grace William. “She genuinely cares about us as people and is helping us grow in our writing and critical thinking.”
Having a professor who has experience is always a good thing. Reilly has done lots of research-based academic writing. Topics she has researched include British literature, disability studies, sensation fiction, freak studies and the history of the body.
“I’m currently a Visiting Research Fellow at George Washington University, where I’m continuing work in disability studies,” Reilly said. “Much of my work focuses on Wilkie Collins, and I’m currently working on a book called The Enfreakment of Disability in Nineteenth-Century British Literature: Wilkie Collins and the Spectacle of Bodily Difference.”
Reilly also published ‘Half Man, Half Chair’: Disability and the Posthuman Technological Imaginaries of Miserrimus Dexter’s Sensational Body in Wilkie Collins’ The Law and the Lady in 2022. Her certifications include the CertTESOL Level 5 Certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, which was issued to her in May 2022. Aside from research, Reilly practices jiu-jitsu. She was a 2023 European Master Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medalist.
Reilly was drawn to Bethel because she would be able to teach a wide range of courses, both within and outside her immediate specialization. “At a smaller institution like Bethel, I have the chance to really get to know my students and see how their thinking develops over time,” she said. Reilly loves when students stop by and chat about a book they love or give a film adaptation recommendation.
Reilly already seems to have made a positive impact on students. “I think Esther brings a strong personality to the English department and a love for teaching and helping her students get the most out of her classes,” said sophomore Katelyn Johnston. “She is very friendly and her door is always open to talk.”
Students can expect to see Reilly teaching Major British Authors, Studies in Fiction: War Literature and First Year Seminar. She is also advising senior theses in Senior Seminar. Reilly loves how she is able to teach about many different time periods. She mentions how in one class she can talk about Chaucer or Shakespeare, while in another class the French Revolution is central to the discussion. “What I like about being at a liberal arts college is that I get to keep returning to different periods and texts that I genuinely enjoy,” she said.
Being a new professor comes with excitement. Some of Reilly’s excitement stems from getting to know the students at Bethel and seeing students grow and become more confident in their own interpretations and thinking. She knows that college gives students questions that they may not have easy answers to, but she believes a part of her job is to help the students become more comfortable thinking for themselves to answer those hard questions.
“If there’s one thing I’d want the Bethel community to know about me, it’s probably that although my research can get pretty specialized, teaching is central to how I think about being a professor,” Reilly said. “I genuinely enjoy talking with students about literature and helping them become stronger writers.”
Reilly cares deeply about her students and the impact that she will make on them. She has already built a positive reputation at Bethel and the community is excited to see what her future holds.