Annotated solutions for Prize 28,871
Across
9 incapably A, B, C IN PLAY (anag)
10 Ceres series (hom)
11 Emily Little Em’ly in David Copperfield
12 Eumenides EU MEN + IDES
13 females FE<MAL>ES [does are female deer]
14 theatre double def
17,21 Three Sisters Little Women was about four sisters + Chekhov’s play
19 Amy Little Dorrit’s first name, youngest of three sisters
20 April first of the three spring months (April, May, June: all girls’ names)
22 weirdos DOWRIES (anag) [Macbeth’s Three Weird Sisters]
24 charlotte/Charlotte double def
26 aorta chinA OR TAiwan (hidden)
28 arena double def
29 accretion crew (hom) in ACTION
Down
1 Nike E(nglish)/KIN (rev)
2 schism CH(urch)/IS in S(pectru)M
3 up my sleeve cryptic def [ref: hand of cards]
4 abbess A/B(achelor)/(Queen)BESS [ERI not ERII]
5 symmetry M (top spy in James Bond books)/MYSTERY (anag)
6 scan (clas)S/CAN
7 predator -ED (suffix for past tense of verbs) in RAPTOR (anag)
8 Isis 1 SIS(ter)
13 Fates fetes (hom) [the Three Fates]
15 eradicated ERA + DIC(t)ATED
16 Ellis embELLIShed [Emily Brontë’s pseudonym]
18 restated RE<STATE>D [Australian and US states]
19 Alsatian AL(l)/ + SAT I<A>N
22 wrench W<(siste)R>ENCH
23 Dorrit (D/t)ORRI(d/T)
24 clan C<L(ine)>AN
25 Lear King Lear had three daughters
27 Anne A/NNE [course from Exeter to Leeds is north-north-east]