Present-day graduate rejected Bede? (4)
I believe the answer is:
adam
'bede?' is the definition.
(Adam Bede is a novel by George Eliot)
'present-day graduate rejected' is the wordplay.
'present day' becomes 'AD' (as opposed to BC).
'graduate' becomes 'MA' (abbreviation for Master of Arts).
'rejected' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'ma' backwards is 'am'.
'ad'+'am'='ADAM'
(Other definitions for adam that I've seen before include "__ Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations" , "A mad sort of ancestor" , "Biblical first human" , "According to the Bible, progenitor of the human race" , "Biblical progenitor of human race" .)