Hermann Broch , born on November 1, 1886, in Vienna, Austria, and died on May 30, 1951, in New Haven, Connecticut, was an Austrian writer, one of the greatest modernist writers of all time. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Hermann Broch is a novelist of the stature of Joyce and Proust. The Death of Virgil is considered by many as his masterpiece. The novel recreates the last day of the poet Virgil's life, hours during which he considers destroying the Aeneid and reflects on his life dedicated to art. The Death of Virgil is part of the famous collection: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.