The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word ADAM BEDE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
D
A
M
B
E
D
E
More clues leading to the result ADAM BEDE
- A novel plot pinched by Agatha Christie, perhaps
- Eponymous hero, graduate in a woman's clutches
- This has plot penned by a woman
- A titled woman hides bottom 24
- A noble lady’s describing plot for novel
- Book a woman into bed? On the contrary
- Confine to bed in A&E? That’s novel!
- A badly made bed as an artistic work
- Endless colour found in a divine English novel
- A bed made badly, George Eliot’s work
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "novel" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case novel = adam bede.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.