Companion taking time out from first part of novel? (9)
I believe the answer is:
chaperone
'companion' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'taking time out from first part of novel?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'taking' could be 'on' (eg one taking drugs is 'on' drugs) and 'on' is present in the answer.
'first' could be 'a' (first letter of the alphabet) and 'a' is found in the answer.
'part' could be 're' (re is a kind of part) and 're' is located in the leftover letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for chaperone that I've seen before include "my charges are small" , "Look after" , "One overseeing" , "attendant" , "Companion" .)