DUBLIN: E dna O`Brien, the author who wrote of her native Ireland in such febrile prose, steeped in sex, love and religious angst, that it sparked national outrage and led to her self-imposed exile, has died aged 93, her agent said on Sunday.

Her 1960 literary debut stirred national contempt in then-staunchly Catholic and conservative Ireland, prompting a priest in her hometown to call for it to be burned. The culture minister of the time branded it `a smear on Irish womanhood`.

Her frank treatment of sexuality in a trilogy of novels that began with `The Country Girls` and included `The Lonely Girl` and `Girls in Their Married Bliss`, scandalised Irish society. Her first six novels were banned by the Irish censor.

But when a selection of her personal papers was added to Ireland`s national library in 2021, Culture Minister Catherine Martin cited O`Brien`s unique importance as a novelist and chronicler of a country thathadonceshunnedand reviled her.

`E dna was a fearless teller of truths, a superb writer possessed of the moral courage to confront Irish society with realities long ignored and suppressed,` Irish President Michael D. Higgins said in a statement on Sunday, describing O`Brien as a dear friend.

`While the beauty of her work was immediately recognised abroad, it is important to remember the hostile reaction it provoked among those who wished for the lived experience of women to remain far from the world of Irish literature... Thankfully Edna O`Brien`s work is now recognised for the superb worl(s of art which they are.` O`Brien died peacefully on Saturday after a long illness, her agent said.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, O`Brien wrote more than 20 novels and worked well into her 90s. Such was the universal appeal of her portrayal of women`s experiences, she received France`s highest cultural distinction in 2021.-Reuters