Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, is best known as the author of ** The Tale of Genji** - written in the eleventh century and universally recognized as the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative and possibly the earliest true novel in the history of the world.

Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, is best known as the author of ** The Tale of Genji** - written in the eleventh century and universally recognized as the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative and possibly the earliest true novel in the history of the world.