The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word JANE EYRE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
J
A
N
E
E
Y
R
E
More clues leading to the result JANE EYRE
- Rudely jeer any English novel
- Given a month, European told to publicise Victorian work
- Book a month to take over from glum donkey
- Romantic heroine, Juliet, with a new energy, Romeo coming into view
- 4G network hosting online year book
- Longing to import drug in Eastern government recalled in novel
- Jack, an A.A. Milne character losing nothing in classic
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "classic" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case classic = jane eyre.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.