What if the author of "The Tale of Genji" had written an autobiography and it had remained undiscovered until now? What would it be like?
That is the proposition Liza Dalby took on by composing just such a narrative. The result is "The Tale of Murasaki," a flowing, empathetic tale. As well it might be. Dalby, who worked in a geisha house in Kyoto, studied anthropology and wrote "Geisha" (1983), also went on to write a history of Japan's national costume, "Kimono: Fashioning Culture" (1993).
One must of course begin by recognizing that there is little biographical material about the author of "Genji" -- beginning with her name: Murasaki Shikibu. Murasaki means "purple" as well as "agrimony," a plant from which a red-purple dyestuff used to be extracted, and shikibu "the bureau of ceremonial." How the two were put together to create what was to become the most famous name in Japanese literature is uncertain -- except that both her father and brother held positions in that government bureau.