were there any english translations?
The first partial translation of "Genji Monogatari" was in English.
The Tale of Genji
The first partial translation of "Genji Monogatari" into English was by Suematsu Kenchō, published in 1882. 
who is murasaki shikibu? A poet where was he from? She was from Heian-kyō, Japan. which was her debut work? UNANSWERABLE can you mention some of her works? "The Tale of Genji", "The Diary of Lady Murasaki" and "Poetic Memoirs" what does the first one deal with? It recounts the life of "Hikaru Genji" what is the literary style used? As with most Heian literature, "Genji"  was probably written mostly in kana.
wiki:1180459
The Tale of Genji [SEP] English translations
The first partial translation of "Genji Monogatari" into English was by Suematsu Kenchō, published in 1882. Arthur Waley published a six-volume translation of all but one chapter, with the first volume published in 1921 and the last in 1933. In 1976, Edward Seidensticker published the first complete translation into English, made using a self-consciously "stricter" approach with regards to content if not form. The English translation published in 2001 by Royall Tyler aims at fidelity in content and form to the original text. The most recently written ("Genji and the Luck of the Sea") dates from 2007. Its initial version has been extensively revised, retitled, and updated for this publication.