A bed made badly by George Eliot (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
adam bede
'by george eliot' is the definition.
(I know that Adam Bede author George Eliot)
'a bed made badly' is the wordplay.
'badly' indicates anagramming the letters (letters in the wrong order).
'bed'+'made'='bedmade'
'bedmade' is an anagram of 'dambede'.
'a'+'dambede'='ADAM BEDE'
(Other definitions for adam bede that I've seen before include "Novel by George Eliot" , "Book by George Eliot" , "Carpenter" .)