By using Austen’s and Bushnell’s two novels as my primary sources I hope to find out whether what has been seen as typically female themes, plots and settings are perceived as less important from a canonical viewpoint. Do the terms “chick-lit” and “women’s literature” determine the status of a novel? I hope to find out what made Austen an esteemed writer and if the same criteria of evaluation can be applied to Bushnell. Are there any similarities between today’ most famous “chick-lit” author who gained her fame by writing about women and their sex lives in an unromantic and shocking fashion, and a pre-Victorian author whose works are part of the literary canon?