This paper asks the question whether historical and neo-Victorian works belong to the same genre or if they need to be approached separately. The focus then switches to the criticism of these works and the effect it has had on the discourse surrounding them. It uses excerpts from The Western Canon by Harold Bloom to introduce some of the characteristics of canonicity and to discuss whether these criteria are fair and attainable. To demonstrate the frequently biased attitude towards these books, The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd are discussed.