Recognised novel being read aloud (4)
I believe the answer is:
knew
'recognised' is the definition.
(know can mean to recognise someone)
'novel being read aloud' is the wordplay.
'novel' becomes 'new' (similar in meaning).
'being read aloud' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'new' sounds like 'KNEW'.
(Other definitions for knew that I've seen before include "Had learnt; sounds like modern" , "Recognised" , "Was familiar with" , "Was cognisant or aware of" , "Acknowledged" .)