Q&A
What was the world’s first novel?
• SHORT ANSWER
It somewhat depends on what defines a novel, but The Tale of Genji has it all
• LONG ANSWER
The most common answer to this question is The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, an epic piece of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century. Of course, written stories pre-date that – other historic titles that are commonly mentioned include the first-century AD Greek tale Callirhoe or the Roman story from the second century AD delightfully called The Golden Ass – but in terms of what is understood by the modern novel, Genji clinches it.
It tells the life and romances of Genji, a disowned son of an emperor with a Casanova-like reputation, while depicting Japanese aristocratic society in elaborate detail. What makes the novel even more groundbreaking is that it was penned by a female author (in a script only used by the women of the court), and was a sensation at a time when prose was not regarded as highly as poetry. Shikibu’s magnum opus would not be translated into English until the 20th century, when versions would reach around 1,300 pages.
3 MILLION
The estimated number of shipwrecks on the ocean floor. Less than one per cent have been discovered and explored.