The young Julia, from an aristocratic family, with deep religious faith, falls madly in love with her humble tutor, the charming Saint-Preux. Her mother, Baroness d'Étange, discovers their relationship and dies from the shock. Her father, enraged, forces Julia to marry Monsieur de Wolmar, an honest, magnanimous man, but an atheist.

Julia or The New Heloise was written between 1756-1758, and when it was published, the publisher couldn't keep up with the sales. By the end of the 18th century, there had been at least seventy editions, more than any other book until that time.