Crossword Genius

Area: mountain road, long time closed, I book (1,7,2,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

a passage to india

'book' is the definition.
(novel by EM Forster)

'area mountain road long time closed i' is the wordplay.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'mountain road' becomes 'pass' (I've seen this before).
'long time' becomes 'age' (an age is a period of time).
'closed' becomes 'to' (as in a door closed to).
'i' becomes 'india' (India is I in the NATO phonetic alphabet).
'a'+'pass'+'age'+'to'+'india'='A PASSAGE TO INDIA'

(Other definitions for a passage to india that I've seen before include "E.M. Forster novel" , "a journey that ends up in the subcontinent" , "taken by hippies seeking guru?" , "Book" , "Novel's" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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