While many consider 'Don Quixote' the first modern novel, the title of the world's first novel often goes to 'The Tale of Genji' (Genji Monogatari), written in the early 11th century by a Japanese noblewoman known as Murasaki Shikibu. The book tells the life story of Prince Genji, exploring his romances and the intricate politics of the Heian court. What makes it a 'novel' is its complex character development and psychological insight, which were unprecedented for the time. Interestingly, at the time, women in Japan were discouraged from learning Chinese (the language of the government), so they wrote in 'kana,' a phonetic Japanese script. This ironically allowed women like Lady Murasaki to develop a more expressive, literary style that felt more 'modern' than the rigid, formal writing of their male counterparts.