Reading novels from this time it appears that land was owned by people that didn't work it themselves, and worked by people that didn't own it. Were there no independent farmers, or is it a matter of author's not including that class of society?
Definitely. There were land-owners that farmed their own land - sometimes hired labourers to farm their land for them, or if they had fallen on hard times, may be farming themselves. By the 19th century, many noble families had lost much of the wealth and land that their families had once held, forcing them to either sell their holdings or work them themselves.It was more common to have sold your land and moved into a respectable house in London rather than farming yourself, but it wasn't unheard of. Tess of the D'Urbervilles includes a few such farming situation - most notably the Clare family who are wealthy. Their youngest son is involved in the management of their dairy business - he isn't exactly milking the cows himself most of the time but he's definitely highly involved in the running of the operation.