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Murasaki Shikibu is the best known writer to emerge from Japan's glorious Heian period. Her novel, The Tale of Genji (Genji-monogatari) is considered to be one of the world's finest and earliest novels. Some argue that Murasaki is the world's first modern novelist.
7. Alexander Pope is the oldest author on this list â when he wrote his first poem, âOde to Solitude,â at the age of 12 it was the year 1700. He suffered from ill health following a childhood illness and had a curved spine, asthma and headaches.