Recruit in French literature embracing son (6)
I believe the answer is:
enlist
'recruit' is the definition.
(I know that enlist is a kind of recruit)
'in french literature embracing son' is the wordplay.
'in french' becomes 'en' ('in' in French).
'literature' becomes 'lit' (abbreviation).
'embracing' is an insertion indicator.
'son' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation for son).
'lit' placed around 's' is 'list'.
'en'+'list'='ENLIST'
(Other definitions for enlist that I've seen before include "augment army" , "Join up - tinsel (anag)" , "Obtain help of" , "Draft" , "Join up, sign on" .)