More severe old author reading perhaps? (7)
I believe the answer is:
sterner
'more severe' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'old author reading perhaps?' is the wordplay.
'old author' becomes 'Sterne' (Laurence Sterne, 1713 - 1768).
'reading perhaps?' becomes 'R' (one of the traditional three R's of education).
'sterne'+'r'='STERNER'
(Other definitions for sterner that I've seen before include "more inflexible anyway" , "Renters of more strict sort" , "Less easy-going" , "More grimly serious" , "More demanding" .)