ISBN Corinne ( or Italy ) book 464 pages

Look at her she is the image of our beautiful Italy.' Corinne or Italy (1807) is both the story of a love affair between Oswald Lord Nelvil and a beautiful poetess and an homage to the landscape literature and art of Italy. On arriving in Italy Oswald immediately falls under Corinne's magical spell as she is crowned a national genius at the Captitol. Yet on returning to England he succumbs to convention and honours his late father's wish by marrying the dutiful English girl Lucile despite having learned that Corinne is Lucile's Italian half-sister. Corinne dies of a broken heart and Lord Nelvil is left with a seared conscience. Staël weaves discreet French Revolutionary political allusion and allegory into her romance and its publication saw her order of exile renewed by Napoleon. Indeed the novel stands as the birth of modern nationalism and introduces to French usage the word `nationalitié'. It is also one of the first works to put a woman's creativity centre stage. Sylvia Raphael's new translation preserves the natural character of the French original and the edition is complemented by notes and and introduction which serve to set an extraordinary work of European Romanticism in its historical and political contexts. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study and much more.