Crossword Genius

Letter of substance reported generosity of spirit (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

largesse

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'generosity of spirit' is the definition.

'letter of substance reported' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'letter' could be 'ess' (the letter S) and 'ess' is found within the answer.
'substance' could be 'la' (La is an example) and 'la' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for largesse that I've seen before include "Magnanimity, munificence" , "Eelgrass (anag.)" , "Generosity in bestowing gifts" , "Generosity in gift-giving" , "Liberal gift" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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