Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster

Set in early 20th-century Italy, a young English widowed mother, Lilia, falls in love with a charming Italian. Horrified, her class-conscious former in-laws dispatch Lilia's brother-in-law to prevent the marriage, only to arrive too late. It become readily apparent that Lilia's former in-laws care only about keeping up appearances, rather that what's best for Lilia, who soon becomes pregnant.