Charles Barimore was one of the most widely read and discussed sentimental novels in French salons during the first half of the nineteenth century, even winning over Madame de Staël.
The tale was admired and deeply moving due to the unhappy fate of the beautiful Nisieda, whose scrupulous love eventually leads her to a descent into mad jealousy. Above all, however, it resonated because of the tormented remorse of the protagonist – the prototype of the Romantic hero, solitary and melancholic.