Thanks to Sayang. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1, 5 Man, perhaps, with prize book (8,6)
TREASURE ISLAND : ISLAND(an example of which/perhaps is the Isle of Man) placed after(with) TREASURE(something that is prized/of great value).
Defn: … by the author found in 6 down.
9 Go ashore, son, to Yarmouth’s first female inn-keeper (8)
LANDLADY : LAND(go ashore/disembark from a boat on to land) + LAD(son/a young boy) + 1st letter of(…’s first) “Yarmouth“.
10 Starts riotous binges (6)
BEGINS : Anagram of(riotous) BINGES.
12 Essential to reorganise Essen City (9)
NECESSITY : Anagram of(to reorganise) ESSEN CITY.
13 Communication in bits (5)
EMAIL : Cryptic defn: Messages input, transmitted, stored and output in bits/units of information, each expressed as either 1 or 0.
14 Eye infection part of nasty experience (4)
STYE : Hidden in(part of) “nasty experience“.
16 That man’s conservative record (7)
HISTORY : HIS(that man’s/that belonging to him) + TORY(term for a member of the Conservative Party).
19 Narrator of adventure to peddle inside, but no fish (7)
HAWKINS : HAWK(to peddle/to offer goods for sale) + “inside” minus(but no) “ide”(a freshwater fish).
Defn: Jim, … in the book at 1,5 across.
21 Typeface initially from old religious books (4)
FONT : 1st letters, respectively, of(initially) “from old” + NT(abbrev. for the New Testament, made up of religious books).
24 Ancient area in region I annexed (5)
IONIA : Hidden in(in) “region I annexed“.
Defn: … in the western coast of Anatolia, Turkey.
25 Net lawyer flummoxed leader of expedition (9)
TRELAWNEY : Anagram of(… flummoxed) NET LAWYER.
Defn: … in the book at 1,5 across.
27 See 28
28, 27 Pirate‘s underpants trimmed with metal (4,4,6)
LONG JOHN SILVER : [ LONG JOHN ](underpants with close-fitting legs and reaching to the ankles) plus(trimmed with) SILVER(a metallic chemical element).
Defn: … in the book at 1,5 across
29 Guardian of campaign shelter (6)
WARDEN : WAR(a combative campaign/a series of actions to achieve a goal) + DEN(a shelter/a lair).
30 NB: listed conglomerate’s most insensitive (8)
BLINDEST : Anagram of(… conglomerate) NB: LISTED.
Defn: …/most lacking in awareness, perception or judgement.
Down
1 Gift of old money (6)
TALENT : Double defn: 1st: A natural skill/aptitude/knack; and 2nd: … used by the ancient Romans and Greeks.
2 Dot removed from untouched rendition of Greer’s female (6)
EUNUCH : Anagram of(… rendition of) [“Dot” deleted from(removed from) “untouched” ].
Defn: Germaine Greer’s description of the traditional female role in her book that played an important role in the feminist movement.
3 Reduced prices of beer on board (5)
SALES : ALES(beers) contained in(on board) SS(abbrev. for “Steam Ship”, prefix for a ship’s name).
4 Chinese drink claret? (3,4)
RED WINE : Double defn: 1st: As one might cryptically term wine from the People’s Republic of China aka Red China due to its Communist/Red state ideology.
6 Holy man quits working for author (9)
STEVENSON : ST(abbrev. for “saint”/a holy man) + EVENS(quits/all square on points or rewards in a competition) + ON(working, as with an electrical appliance, say).
Defn: Robert Louis, … of the book at 1,5 across.
7 Agent provocateur‘s a soldier at Turnhill (8)
AGITATOR : A + GI(term for a soldier in the US military) + reversal of(… Turn) AT + TOR(a hill/rocky peak).
8 Exhibits old records I mounted within days (8)
DISPLAYS : Reversal of
(… mounted, in a down clue) [ LPS(abbrev. for “long-playing records”, discs of audio recordings) + I] contained in(within) DAYS.
11 Cor! The endless legend (4)
MYTH : MY!(like Cor!, an expression of surprise) + “The” minus
its last letter(endless).
15 Islander treating wine as tea (9)
TAIWANESE : Anagram of(treating) WINE AS TEA.
17 Tool to fasten was rejected (8)
CHAINSAW : CHAIN(to fasten/tie up with, well, chains) + reversal of(… rejected) WAS.
18 Con man renovated Windsor Castle without a cost (8)
SWINDLER : Anagram of(renovated) [“Windsor Castle” minus(without) “a cost“].
20 Food to gratify (4)
SATE : Double defn: 1st: With an e-acute, alternative spelling of “satay”, an Indonesian and Malaysian dish.
21 Petroleum product derived from full isomer, oddly (4,3)
FUEL OIL : Anagram of(derived from) [FULL + 1st, 3rd and 5th letters of(…, oddly) “isomer” ].
22 Fashionable to show up with money (6)
INCOME : IN(fashionable/trendy) + COME(to show up/to attend).
23 Ring, say, a young bird (6)
CYGNET : Homophone of(…, say) “signet”(… ring, a ring set with a small seal/signet used to authenticate official documents.
26 Mission ship heading north for gas (5)
ARGON : ARGO(the ship used by the mythological Jason and company in the mission/search for the Golden Fleece) placed over(heading, in a down clue) N(a. “north”).
Thanks scchua. As yesterday, some easy ones but also some tough nuts. My LOIN was 20dn SATE because, although I lived for years in Malaya and Malaysia, I’ve never come across that spelling. Thanks Sayang for a brisk warm-up to the day.
I think 28/27 is LONG JOHNS with “trimmed” denoting loss of the final S + SILVER.
There’s a minor error in blog for 3d. Should start with ALE (beer) singular.
Thought the anagram at 18d was very clever. Thanks to all.
Odd that Pasquale’s in the Graun is also themed on writers. LOI 30ac.
I liked the TREASURE ISLAND (mini-) theme. I haven’t read it since I was a child but the names of the main characters are so familiar they went in pretty easily. I liked the surface for the anagram for LONG JOHN SILVER.
Of the non-thematic clues, I liked EUNUCH, again reminding me of reading material in (the later stages of) my youth. Thanks for the picture of the instantly recognisable cover.
Thanks to scchua and Sayang
Thanks to Sayang and scchua. An enjoyable solve. I took a while dredging up TRELAWNEY and did not get the link between SATE and satay.
I used to struggle with these puzzles but have recently been following this blog. It has been extremely helpful and I romped through today’s puzzle. Thank you all who post on this blog.
Perhaps I should have included my name? Andrea Elliot??(1,7,1,3)
You’ve clearly caught the bug now, SM… thought I’d finished the puzzle, then had to spend 20 mins deciphering your addition
Thanks. Very sporting of you.
Thanks Sayang and scchua
A good themed puzzle from Sayang and although done relatively quickly, it was still very enjoyable. Particularly liked the lift and separate that was used at 7d.
Finished with TRELAWNEY (a character from the book that I didn’t remember) and SATE (where the alternative version of ‘satay’ was new and had to be checked).