Middlemarch and Adam Bede
I second the George Eliot recommendation. Middlemarch is set in 1830 - 1832, and it sounds as though the social standing of your characters may be similar to that of the Garths. There's no illegitimacy in that story, but Caleb Garth is a land agent, so you get a feel for farming and the changes brought about in rural life by the construction of the railroads (actually, "progress" is one of the major themes of the novel).
For illegitimacy, go to Adam Bede (also by George Eliot). It's set in 1799, but that's not so far off. Hetty Sorrel may be of a slightly lower social standing than your character, but this book hinges on how she was treated and how her life went after giving birth out of wedlock.
I second the George Eliot recommendation. Middlemarch is set in 1830 - 1832, and it sounds as though the social standing of your characters may be similar to that of the Garths. There's no illegitimacy in that story, but Caleb Garth is a land agent, so you get a feel for farming and the changes brought about in rural life by the construction of the railroads (actually, "progress" is one of the major themes of the novel).
For illegitimacy, go to Adam Bede (also by George Eliot). It's set in 1799, but that's not so far off. Hetty Sorrel may be of a slightly lower social standing than your character, but this book hinges on how she was treated and how her life went after giving birth out of wedlock.
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