The Simpsons by Shackleton

Puzzle explanation

The subject of the puzzle was Edgar Allen Poe’s improbable short story The Spectacles. The protagonist is Napoleon Bonaparte Simpson, whose father’s surname was Froissart, described by the extra “French” in 30dn and its abbreviation FR in the grid. Froissart’s father-in-law was Croissart, a banker (“creditor” in 8dn and CR in the grid), whose father-in-law was Victor Voissart (“Victor” in 1dn and V), and his father-in-law was Moissart (“Monsieur” in 24dn and M). Thus the first 2×2 block of cells contained {M, V, CR, FR}. In the story, Simpson has poor eyesight but is too vain to wear glasses. He sees a beautiful woman, Eugenie Lalande, falls in love with her and eventually marries her. After the wedding, he puts on glasses for the first time and discovers that his bride is actually an elderly woman, who turns out to be his great-great-grandmother, formerly named Madame Moissart.

The instruction given by corrections to the misprints in down clues was “cut in half and rejoin”, so the grid was halved horizontally and the bottom half attached on the right of the top half. The initials of extra-word clues spelt “arc, two ovals”, so an arc was drawn across the middle, through two cells containing POE, connecting two ovals, each surrounding the four 2×2 blocks in one side of the grid (any roundish loop passing through the right number of cells was accepted), representing the pair of spectacles. The 2×2 blocks contained _OISSART and the first one needed to show M to reveal the “hideous truth” of the identity of Napoleon’s bride. In fact, the whole marriage was a sham, arranged by a friend in cahoots with Eugenie Lalande, to teach Napoleon a lesson for his vanity in not wearing glasses. In the end he marries a young relative of Eugenie named STEPHANIE LALANDE, highlighted in the bottom row of the grid.

Clue explanations

Conventions: * = anagram, < = reversal

No Extra word/(misprint) Answer Explanation
Across
1 Nora ALGERINE REALIGNE(d) *
7 (N)umber DATA (A + TAD) <
11 P(A)re SKIVE V in SKIER − R
13 (P)ooter NOBODY (OB + ON) < + D(Erb)Y
14 f(O)rces HUMVEE UM in (H + VEE)
15 a(L)ms DONORS DONS around OR
17 t(E)n DENARII (IN + (M)ADEIR(a)) *
19 (O)ut TRAIKIT TRAI(t) + KIT
21 deed DRAT DR + A(partmen)T
22 cha(N)ged DICAST I’D < + CAST
23 poem EPHA EP(ic) + HA(s)
26 b(E)nder KNEE K(elvi)N + EE
27 p(U)t TIETAC (CAT TRIED − D − R) *
29 Ella EHED (DE + HE) <
31 Ru(G) DHURRIE HURRIED with last letter moved to the front
33 Ware GABELLE GAB + ELLE
36 (E)ight-legged ARANEA (r)AN in AREA
38 eve(N) RAMPED RAM + PED
39 bane ANOMIE OMAN * + IE
40 m(I)ss KOORI KO + O + RI
41 plan(E)s EL AL LEGAL * − G
42 done ANDERSON ER’S in (AND + NO <)
Down
1 Victor ASHET (Rober)T after ((r)ASH + E)
2 ta(C)k GIMCRACK (GIMCRACK + IT) * = MAGIC TRICK
3 r(U)sh-like REED E in RED
4 no(T) INEDITED (I + INTENDED − N) *
5 Jo(I)n’s NODE NOD + (Hop)E
6 brow(N) EBONY E + BONY
8 creditor ADO A + DO
9 s(H)ade TYRIAN T(in)Y + RIA + N
10 f(A)re APOSITIC (COALPIT − L + IS) *
12 stee(L) KUKRI (IRK + UK) <
16 (F)ood FRIANDE (FIRE AND) *
18 f(A)st ADHERE HEAD * + RE
20 chai(N)s TETHERED ETHER in TED
22 (D)aunted DIE GAME (I + EG) in DAME
24 Monsieur ATROPOS APROPOS with T for P
25 (R)uminant BHARAL (ALHAMBRA − AM) *
28 P(E)rson AIDER REDIA(l) <
30 French ULEMA (r)ULE MA(de)
32 (J)ock’s ELDIN ’ELD IN
34 F(O)rmer LAIN (IN A) * after L
35 St(I)r WAKE W + AKE
37 yar(N)s ANA (c)AN A(ggravate)
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