num_pages: 1113
description: Written in the eleventh century, Lady Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji is widely celebrated as the world's first novel, but as Donald Keene has observed, it is also "one of its greatest." Genji the Shining Prince, the son of an emperor, is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature, family circumstances, love affairs, alliances, and shifting political fortunes form the core of this magnificent epic. Throughout, The Tale of Genji offers a lively and well-rounded glimpse of golden age Japan with a cast of characters as richly conceived and nuanced as those of Proust.
language: English
title: The Tale of Genji
titlecomplete: The Tale of Genji
characters: Fujitsubo, Yugiri, Genji, Murasaki, To no Chujo
genres: Classics, Historical, Japan, Asia, Novels, Japanese Literature, Romance, Historical Fiction, Literature, Fiction
ratings_count: 12933
places: Japan
series: 源氏物語  , The Tale of Genji, El Relato de Genji (Traducción APJ)
publisher: Knopf