Novel about British male leaving holy city (7)
I believe the answer is:
rebecca
'novel' is the definition.
(Daphne du Maurier novel)
'about british male leaving holy city' is the wordplay.
'about' becomes 're' ('re' means regarding or about).
'british' becomes 'b' (abbreviation e.g. in 'BBC').
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'leaving' suggests deleting specific letters.
'holy city' becomes 'mecca' (Islamic holy city).
'mecca' with 'm' taken out is 'ecca'.
're'+'b'+'ecca'='REBECCA'
(Other definitions for rebecca that I've seen before include "One of the four matriarchs of the Jewish people (anglicised)" , "She married Maxim first" , "Daphne du Maurier's antiheroine" , "she loved Ivanhoe" , "Daphne du Maurier novel; girl's name" .)