Literary heroine, Amy, in short torrid novel (6,6)
I believe the answer is:
little dorrit
'literary heroine amy' is the definition.
(Dickens' Little Dorrit's real name is Amy Dorrit)
'short torrid novel' is the wordplay.
'short' becomes 'little' (similar in meaning).
'novel' indicates anagramming the letters.
'torrid' is an anagram of 'dorrit'.
'little'+'dorrit'='LITTLE DORRIT'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for little dorrit that I've seen before include "(Female) Dickens novel" , "Novel by Charles Dickens" , "Work of 7 27 [CHARLES DICKENS]" , "(Heroine of) Dickens novel" , "Novel heroine born in the Marshalsea" .)