Alfred was known to be this good at singular times, and novel (3,5,6)
I believe the answer is:
the great gatsby
'novel' is the definition.
(novel by F Scott Fitzgerald)
'alfred was known to be this good at singular times' is the wordplay.
'alfred was known to be this' becomes 'the great' (as in Alfred the Great).
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'singular' becomes 's' (abbreviation sometimes used in dictionaries).
'times' becomes 'by' (both can mean 'multiplied by').
'thegreat'+'g'+'at'+'s'+'by'='THE GREAT GATSBY'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for the great gatsby that I've seen before include "Book" , "F Scott Fitzgerald novel" , "classic work" .)