The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 6 letter word ROBINSON CRUSOE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
R
O
B
I
N
S
O
N
C
R
U
S
O
E
More clues leading to the result ROBINSON CRUSOE
- Flyer exulted so vocally, welcoming young male castaway
- Hero in book, maybe Hood succeeded on tortuous course
- Steal cruelly connoisseur’s classic work
- Bird soon cures desperate castaway
- Steal from connoisseur’s restoration novel
- Sailor wrecked Cambridge college rowers, so they say
- Chap booked to be on island by Friday
- Flier’s on wrong course — he got marooned
- Book of Daniel
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Hero in book" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hero in book = robinson crusoe.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.