c. 978-c. 1015. Japanese writer, a lady at
the court. Her masterpiece of fiction, The
Tale of Genji, is one of the classic works of
Japanese literature, and may be the world's
first novel. She was a member of the Fujiwara
clan, but her own name is not known; scholars
have given her the name Murasaki after a
character in the book. It deals with
upper-class life in Heian Japan, centring on
the affairs of Prince Genji.