Essayist comes back from jail early (4)
I believe the answer is:
elia
'essayist' is the definition.
(pseudonym of Charles Lamb)
'back from jail early' is the wordplay.
'back' is a reversal indicator.
'from' indicates a hidden word.
'aile' can be found hidden inside 'jail early'.
'aile' in reverse letter order is 'ELIA'.
'comes' is the link.
(Other definitions for elia that I've seen before include "Pseudonym of Charles Lamb, 1775-1834" , "1A [SHEEPISH] part of 26 [LAMB-DA]" , "Pseudonym adopted by Charles Lamb" , "Essays of - (Charles Lamb)" , "Charles Lamb's pen name" .)