Tough One - "Consider"

[divineacclivity]

I chose option E because option E sounded perfect other than a comma missing before "which" and D didn't seem to convey the meaning clearly, in that,
(i) "Shikibu as a .." - seems to modify Shikibu at first
(ii) "considered by " - unnecessarily indirect tone
"to be" in any case is common in both D & E options.

Ron, please help me correct my thought process. thanks in advance

[divineacclivity]

I think I got it. Here's the explanation:
Written in the early eleventh century by Lady Murasaki Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be the world's first novel.

In A, B, C: "Written in the .." modifies "literary historians" - so wrong

E: "which" doesn't have a clear antecedent - so wrong

So, we're left with option D.
Also, "considered to be" is not considered out rightly wrong. Consider X as Y though is wrong.
I'd have liked to avoid the indirect tone "considered by literary" but again it is NOT wrong.

Experts, please do correct me if I'm wrong.

[jlucero]

I think I got it. Here's the explanation:
Written in the early eleventh century by Lady Murasaki Shikibu as a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court, literary historians consider The Tale of Genji to be the world's first novel.

In A, B, C: "Written in the .." modifies "literary historians" - so wrong

E: "which" doesn't have a clear antecedent - so wrong

So, we're left with option D.
Also, "considered to be" is not considered out rightly wrong. Consider X as Y though is wrong.
I'd have liked to avoid the indirect tone "considered by literary" but again it is NOT wrong.

Experts, please do correct me if I'm wrong.

Your breakdown works well, however, which does need a comma (something you mentioned), but it also must refer to the word (or noun phrase) in front of it, so in E:

Shikibu, The Tale of Genji is a fictionalized account of political and romantic intrigue in the Japanese imperial court which literary historians consider to be the world's first novel.

Literary historians consider the "Japanese imperial court" to be the world's first novel. Incorrect.