Written in 1912, Death in Venice is Thomas Mann's best-known novella – a haunting, elegiac masterpiece in which the main character, Gustav Aschenbach, is a successful and much-revered author. While vacationing in Venice, this highly disciplined writer, who always has maintained extraordinary control of his literary creations, finds himself suddenly overwhelmed by an all-consuming love for a beautiful young boy. A deadly epidemic sweeps through the city, but Aschenbach's attraction to the youth compels him to remain, thus sealing his fate.