"Corinne, or Italy" is a tragic tale of love between an Italian woman of genius and an English lord. It is concerned with such themes as the right to free love, the capacity of women for genius, the glorification of Italy and its art and architecture, the celebration of freedom, and the relationships among climate, geopgraphy, political institutions, and art. It is full of such romantic themes as dark women vs fair ladies, tainted versus pure lives, genius versus domestic virtues.

"Corinne" stands at the center of nascent Romanticism and virtually bursts free of its neoclassical trappings to express these themes. It was written at a transitional point in the development of the French novel, and has greatly influenced the genre not only in France, but also in England and the United States.