-- what Ernie wrote left in French country (5)
I believe the answer is:
plays
'what ernie wrote' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'left in french country' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'french country' becomes 'pays' (I've seen this before).
'l' inserted inside 'pays' is 'PLAYS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for plays that I've seen before include "Stage works" , "Dramatist's works" , "Dramatic works" , "Frolics" , "Theatrical works" .)