A November in which female sits looking poorly? (5)
I believe the answer is:
ashen
'looking poorly?' is the definition.
(looking pale or unwell)
'a november in which female' is the wordplay.
'november' becomes 'N' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'in which' indicates putting letters inside.
'female' becomes 'she' ('she' refers to a woman).
'a'+'n'='an'
'an' going around 'she' is 'ASHEN'.
'sits' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
(Other definitions for ashen that I've seen before include "may be pale with shock" , "Wan - wooden - pallid" , "Very pale, with shock or fear" , "Deathly pale" , "Grey, pallid" .)