{"product_id":"the-tale-of-murasaki-a-novel","title":"The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eOut of the life and work of Lady Murasaki  the author of  the worlds first novel  The Tale of Genji  Liza Dalby has woven an exquisite and irresistible fiction that with rich  nuanced authenticity and lyrical drama  brings an elaborate past world to vivid life.  The sensitive and modest daughter of a mid-ranking court poet  Murasaki Shikibu staves off loneliness with her active imagination  telling stories about the dashing Prince Genji to her close friends. At first  they are their private entertainment  but soon Genjis amorous adventures are leaked to the public and Murasaki is thrust into the life of a kind of 11th century Japanese celebrity. She is compelled by a charismatic regent to accept a position at court regaling the empress with her stories. At court  Lady Murasaki becomes caught in a vortex of high politics and sexual intrigue  which begins to reflect itself in her stories. In this way  she comes to write her masterpiece  The Tale of Genji.  But this is much more than just an elegantly plotted historical novel. The Tale of Murasaki is a beautiful work of literary archaeology. Dalby  the only Westerner to have become a geisha and the author of the definitive book  Geisha  subtly reconstructs the fashions  sensibilities  manners  and preoccupations of 11th-century Japan. The result is a vivid portrait of a woman and her times  the most splendid in Japanese history. In The Tale of Murasaki  Dalby transports her readers to an exotic world and time and wraps them in a story that speaks clearly across the centuries. It is a dazzling literary achievement and a truly unique and wonderful reading experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44986967490613,"sku":"ByrdShop_0385497946","price":32.16,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780385497947.jpg?v=1770921885","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-tale-of-murasaki-a-novel","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}