Brown's Ormond, set in Philadelphia after the American Revolution, confronts popular societal debates of the period, including women's education and marriage, and focuses on a young woman, Constantia, who struggles in the midst of family financial ruin and a yellow fever epidemic. Similar to Brown's other novels like Wieland, Edgar Huntly, and Arthur Mervyn, Ormond is often considered a gothic novel because it explores themes such as murder, disease, and sensationalized romance.