Holy work or novel? Try The Last Word and bit of Thackeray (3,9)
I believe the answer is:
new testament
'holy work' is the definition.
'new testament' can be an answer for 'work' (I have seen 'religious work' mean 'new testament' so perhaps 'work' could also mean 'new testament'). I'm not sure about the 'holy' bit.
'novel? try the last word and bit of thackeray' is the wordplay.
'novel?' becomes 'new' (novel means new or fresh).
'try' becomes 'test' (synonyms).
'the last word' becomes 'amen' (last word in a prayer).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'bit of' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'thackeray' is 't'.
'new'+'test'+'amen'+'t'='NEW TESTAMENT'
'or' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for new testament that I've seen before include "Holy Writ" , "Sacred books" , "religious work" , "Matthew and others" , "Second part of the Bible" .)