Plain Jane the novelist almost gets note (7)
I believe the answer is:
austere
'plain jane' is the definition.
'austere' can be an answer for 'plain' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'jane' bit.
'novelist almost gets note' is the wordplay.
'novelist' becomes 'austen' (Jane Austen).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (almost the whole word is kept).
'gets note' becomes 're' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'austen' with its last letter taken off is 'auste'.
'auste'+'re'='AUSTERE'
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for austere that I've seen before include "Strict in appearance" , "Abstemious, strict" , "Grim -- a US tree (anag)" , "Severe; lacking luxuries" , "Spartan and abstemious" .)