The Glady Marsh by Salamanca

Puzzle explanation

Asterisked clues led to words that could be girls’ names with the addition of a final letter (Angela, Linda, Lara, Sophy, Nesta, Pearl, Betsy, Wanda). This mirrored the word RACHE scrawled on the wall in the Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet, which Gregson and Lestrade mistakenly assumed to indicate RACHEL. (This, being the first of the Sherlock Holmes stories, was therefore when these characters made their first appearance.) Solvers were required to write the thematically modified title “The(a) Glady(s) Marsh(a)” beneath the grid.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

Number Answer Explanation
Across
1 WRITING ON THE Thematic
10* ANGEL Two definitions; the existence of wings (a common concept) is confirmed by The Oxford Dictionary of English
12 DARES Two definitions; reference Dan Dare
13* LIND LIN + D(ry)
14 REDDEN RED DEN & lit
15 LEASING-MAKER GREEK ANIMALS*
17* LAR (C)LAR(e)
19 MNA M(oney) + ’N’ + A; & lit as double definition
20* SOPH SOP + H [no definition]
23 COVER-UP COVE + PUR<
24 SIERRAN Composite anagram of TERRAIN IS, using IT, & lit
26* NEST N + EST [French for “IS”] [no definition]; see Agnes in The Chambers Dictionary for Nesta
27 FOR O in FR
29 AND Hidden
30 RABETTING-SAW BIG BEAR WANTS*
34 RECKAN RECK + AN
36 OKRA Hidden, & lit
37 DITTO DO about (I + T + T)
38 STEAN A [article] for O in STONE*
39 ENSEPULCHRED SLEEP UNDER CH* & lit
Down
1 WALL Thematic
2 IGNARO (O(ne) + RANG + I(ntelligence))< & lit
3 TEDS Hidden, semi-& lit
4 NORNA NO RNA; The Chambers Dictionary does not make it clear if one can have a singular Fate
5 GREGSON Thematic
6 ODD OD + D(rugs)
7 TREK T + RE + (wal)K
8 HENEQUEN E’EN in (H + QUEEN – E)
9 ESTREPED TREES* + PED, semi-& lit
11 LAIN (s)LAIN
16 MOVE Four definitions
17 LESTRADE Thematic
18 ALIZARIN (R + IN) after (A + ZILA)<
19 MIRE ME with (I + R(age)) “stuck in”, & lit
21* PEAR PEA + R; type of pear
22 ERSE Hidden, & lit
23 CATTABU (AT + TAB) in CU
25 TASKER ASKER after T
27 FINAL FIN + A + L
28 ONUS Cryptic definition (ON US)
31* BETS BE + T(elecast)S
32 GOTH GOT + H, semi-& lit, using the convention that a noun can be defined by a verbal phrase
33* WAND WAN + D
35 KOP KIP, O for I
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