Bede, perhaps, coming in to read a manuscript (4)
I believe the answer is:
adam
'bede perhaps' is the definition.
(Adam Bede is a novel by George Eliot)
'in to read a manuscript' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'ADAM' is hidden in the letters of 'read a manuscript'.
'coming' is the link.
(Other definitions for adam that I've seen before include "first in the race?" , "- - Bede, novel" , "First Christian ancestor" , "First man in the Bible" , "First man of Genesis" .)