SOURCE: ABC.NET

Frank Moorhouse, the Australian literary giant best known for the Edith trilogy, has died at the age of 83.

Moorhouse died on Sunday at a hospital in Sydney.

His biographer said that Moorhouse's legacy was that he sought to push the limits of what was considered acceptable in society at the time.

Moorhouse was born in Nowra on the NSW South Coast in 1938, and lived his childhood at nearby Jaspers Brush.

He moved to Sydney at age 17 to become a cadet on the Daily Telegraph. 

In his 30s he became a full-time writer, publishing 18 books over his lifetime. 

Sydney University academic Catharine Lumby, author of an upcoming biography on Moorhouse, said a theme of his writings was the push for more freedoms.

"Frank was fascinated with how can we preserve as much freedom as possible," Professor Lumby said.

"[His work asked] how many rules do we have to put at the boundaries of what we do to stop us getting tempted into the woods of hedonism."

She said the embodiment of this fascination was his character Edith Campbell Berry, the central figure in his Edith trilogy.

"I do think there is a lot of Frank in Edith," Professor Lumby said.

"Frank was bisexual. He was very in touch with his feminine side. It's no surprise that he was able to write this incredibly convincing character.

"Female readers routinely talk about how much they love Edith, the character of Edith.

"And I think the other thing that is like Frank, is Edith is fascinated with how many rules we need for living." 

The second book in the trilogy, Dark Palace, won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2001 after Moorhouse was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for service to Australian literature in 1985.

Lifelong connection to Nowra

Despite living most of his life in Sydney, Moorhouse's connection to the Shoalhaven was lifelong.

"He was very attached to the South Coast," Professor Lumby said.

"He went and bushwalked there all the time. He was an avid bushwalker.

"He came to Sydney at 17 as a cadet [and] he felt like a boy from the bush in the big smoke, definitely. 

"He loved Nowra and he loved the South Coast and he felt very connected to that area."

In Twitter tributes following his death, friend and director of the Adelaide Writers' Week Louise Adler wrote:

"A superb oeuvre culminating in the truly great Edith trilogy, passionate anti-censorship advocate, staunch champion of our literary culture and a splendid lunch companion."

ABC political writer and commentator Annabel Crabb said: 

"Will never forget reading his short stories as a teenager in my country town and recognising for the first time what brilliant writing was.

"He had a perceptive but non-judgemental eye. Full of forgiveness for human frailty."

Remembering Uncle Frank

His niece Karin Moorhouse said her Uncle Frank's books were kept hidden at home when she was younger.

"I can very clearly remember one day, with the assistance of my younger brother, fetching a stepladder to try to get up to find out what these books were about.

"And my 'oh my god' moment when I pulled a book off the shelf and was confronted with this buxom naked lady with a bald eagle seal stamped on her leg, right there on the front cover."

It wasn't until Ms Moorhouse finished university that she appreciated his work.

His book 'My Everlasting Secret Family' became a touchstone.

"Firstly, it was a real insight not only into Frank and his sexuality, his progressiveness and his vulnerability, but I think it was something of a window on him and my own family and skeletons in the closet," she said.

"I had a renewed respect and understanding for him.

"It was at that point that I tried to reach out to form a bond that we never really had as I was growing up".

A Memorial Service will be held for Moorhouse at the Mitchell Library in Sydney in July, and a small private funeral service will be held in Nowra.