"Retro" plate way off mark initially for Blair's book (6,4)
I believe the answer is:
animal farm
'book' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'retro plate way off mark initially' is the wordplay.
'retro' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (retro is Latin for 'backwards').
'plate' becomes 'lamina' (anatomical term for a plate or layer).
'way off' becomes 'far' (I've seen this in another clue).
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'mark' is 'm'.
'lamina' in reverse letter order is 'animal'.
'animal'+'far'+'m'='ANIMAL FARM'
'for blair's' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for animal farm that I've seen before include "Book giving quote Four legs good, two legs bad" , "George Orwell novel" , "where Napoleon led" , "allegory" .)