page_title: Illegitimacy in fiction
section_title: Written works
hierarchical_section_title: Illegitimacy in fiction / Written works
caption_attribution_description: George Eliot (1865) by Sir Frederic William Burton
context_page_description: This is a list of fictional stories in which illegitimacy features as an important plot element. Passing mentions are omitted from this article. Many of these stories explore the social pain and exclusion felt by illegitimate "natural children".
  Illegitimacy was a common theme in Victorian literature. "Illegitimacy was a popular subject for Victorian writers, not only because of its value as a plot device, but also because of the changing laws affecting illegitimate children and their parents which kept the topic in the public eye."
caption: Eliot
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