Chalicea – her clues are usually on the gentle side, but occasionally the endgame is not as easy …
Preamble: Wordplay in 10 clues leads to an extra letter not required by the answer. In clue order, these letters give the title of a novel; the circled letters will reveal its author. Its epigraph (4,7) must be written below the grid. Solvers must obey that instruction four times, exchanging two sets of fragments (14 cells) in the filled grid.
… and so it proved.
I certainly rattled through the clues on this one, solving many of them on first reading, and only a small handful needed looking at more than twice. I didn’t have to use Chambers very much at all and I don’t recall making use of Google before the endgame. 
I solved from the top down this time and very quickly had RDSEND from the first 6 down clues and it was a fair bet that the last 4 down clues were going to produce HOWA. Later, this made it relatively straightforward to populate the last few circles with the remaining letters from E M FORSTER. By good fortune I even knew the epigraph (4,7): Only Connect (being a regular viewer of the TV game show, though often getting only 2 or 3 answers).
I must confess that I found “obey the instruction four times” rather baffling – what was I supposed to connect? I presumed I had to end up with some sort of quadrilateral, but where were the corners? 
Self-doubt began to creep in, but I was sure I hadn’t simply misremembered. I had an inkling that there was more to the epigraph than the (4,7) so I checked and it continues “… the prose and the passion”.
Very soon TARZAN caught my eye and then JANE – the passion, maybe? And right next to them there is SALT and also PEPPER – not prose, but is it passion? Then towards the other two corners there is WAR & PEACE (definitely prose) and GIN & TONIC – again, prose or passion? Anyway, onto the exchanging of 14 cells.
We swap JANE with SALT and also WAR with GIN, effecting a re-pairing and one that magically leaves real words. (Exchanging the alternative partners doesn’t leave real words and involves 22 cells not 14.)
Thanks, Chalicea. A very neat piece of grid construction.
| No. | Clue | Answer | X | Wordplay |
| Across | ||||
| 1 | Damages and strikes circling, ultimately innocent birds (9, 2 words) | MARSH TITS | MARS (damages) HITS (strikes) around (innocen)T | |
| 7 | Mountain exploits vacuous in Massachusetts (4) | MESA | E(xploit)S in MA (Massachusetts) | |
| 11 | Secret app rep sorted out for container of hot stuff (12) | PEPPER-CASTER | [SECRET APP REP]* | |
| 12 | Rule – invert vessel! (3) | RAJ | JAR< (vessel) | |
| 13 | No longer approach what listener lends? (5) | ANEAR | AN EAR (what listener lends?) | |
| 15 | Dapple-grey monitor perhaps not unknown (5) | LIARD | LIZARD (monitor perhaps) ¬ Z (unknown) | |
| 16 | Unusually direct acknowledgement of achievement (6) | CREDIT | [CREDIT]* | |
| 17 | Output of local fields – tawdry stuff, the ultimate in trash (4) | TATH | TAT (tawdry stuff) (tras)H | |
| 18 | Withdraw from diocese including church and leader of deacons (6) | SECEDE | SEE (diocese) around CE (church) & D(eacons) | |
| 19 | In the country plants singular hedges from time to time (4) | SEGS | S(ingular) (h)E(d)G(e)S | |
| 21 | Headgear refurbishment, on reflection taking time (6) | TITFER | REFIT< (refurbishment) around T(ime) | |
| 22 | Can it last for carefree woman? (3) | SHE | SH (can it) (carefre)E | |
| 23 | Hard to ventilate very small space (4) | HAIR | H(ard) AIR (ventilate) | |
| 25 | Return defective router (6) | RETOUR | [ROUTER]* | |
| 28 | Disease of oak; canker now and then (4) | ACNE | (o)A(k) C(a)N(k)E(r) | |
| 29 | Woven wool mostly nourished (6) | WOOFED | WOO(l) FED (nourished) | |
| 31 | Measurements of fellows in research (6) | REMENS | MEN (fellows) in RES(earch) | |
| 33 | Sights on surveying instruments intrinsically label favourable conditions (8) | VANTAGES | VANES (sights on surveying instruments) around TAG (label) | |
| 35 | Make angrily excited piece of sacrilege (4) | RILE | (sac)RILE(ge) | |
| 37 | Adult male druggie; one who entertains (6) | AMUSER | A(dult) M(ale) USER (druggie) | |
| 40 | Less manageable type of dove (7) | ROCKIER | double definition | |
| 42 | Sailors’ forgotten sexual desires (5) | SALTS | double definition | |
| 43 | Celebrity emptily hears raptures broadcast (9) | SUPERSTAR | H | [[H](ear)S RAPTURES]* |
| 44 | Wacky hybrid, no matter which (4) | ZANY | O | Z[O] (hybrid) ANY (no matter which) |
| 45 | Airs unhappy news involving unrestrained cuts (5) | TUNES | W | [NE[W]S (c)UT(s)]* |
| 46 | Concerning advanced payments for government securities (6) | RENTES | A | RE (concerning) [A]NTES (advanced payments) |
| Down | ||||
| 1 | Ignoring the odds, premier races use these classy vehicles (5) | MERCS | R | (p)[R](e)M(i)E(r) R(a)C(e)S |
| 2 | Doctor to throw out unsatisfactory article (6) | REJECT | D | [D]R (doctor) EJECT (throw out) |
| 3 | Stupidly soft-soaped projection at end of chair leg (9, 2 words) | SPADE FOOT | S | [SOFT-[S]OAPED]* |
| 4 | Unsteadily move support to apply plaster in some places (6) | TEETER | E | TEE (support) TE[E]R (apply plaster, dialect) |
| 5 | Supremely angry I conducted critical trial (7) | IRATEST | N | I RA[N] (conducted) TEST (critical trial) |
| 6 | Potassium nitrate American foolishly splattered (9) | SALTPETER | D | [SPLATTERE[D]]* |
| 8 | How surfers record rations across the Channel? (5) | ÉTAPE | E-TAPE (how surfers record …?) | |
| 9 | Fluids, rising, exist after end of droughts (4) | SERA | ARE< (exist) after (drought)S | |
| 10 | Direct prayer to God of upset pitiful Egyptian deity (5) | ARDAS | SAD (pitiful) RA (Egyptian deity) all< | |
| 14 | To some extent inform on the lady (6) | RATHER | RAT (inform on) HER (the lady) | |
| 19 | Imposter originally epitomised ignominy (5) | SHAME | SHAM (imposter) E(pitomised) | |
| 20 | Supernatural Muslim spirits, beginning with substance lacking (4) | GINN | BEGINNING ¬ BEING (substance) | |
| 21 | Go through raised skill with lines of poetry (8) | TRAVERSE | ART (skill) VERSE (lines of poetry) | |
| 24 | Sample of loose cannons on the up – experts (4) | ACES | (loo)SE CA(nnons) rev. | |
| 26 | People of fashion in charge giving strength (5) | TONIC | TON (people of fashion) IC (in charge) | |
| 27 | Right way out – turn back! (7) | REGRESS | R(ight) EGRESS (way out) | |
| 30 | Scarcity of soil after end of flood (6) | DEARTH | EARTH (soil) after (floo)D | |
| 32 | Animals that wander remain round heart of farms and fields in the end (6) | STRAYS | STAY (remain) around (fa)R(ms) (field)S | |
| 34 | Some crimes neatly intervening legally (5) | MESNE | (cri)MES NE(atly) | |
| 35 | Rabble turn up (4) | ROUT | double definition | |
| 36 | Constituent of island sovereignty abandoned by MP (4) | EIRE | EMPIRE (sovereignty) ¬ MP | |
| 37 | Ridges of rock with sulphur and bit of rubble interspersed (4) | ÅSAR | AA (rock) alternating with S(ulphur) & R(ubble) | |
| 38 | Equine female’s dark area (4) | MARE | double definition | |
| 39 | Not completely specify tabulated fact (4) | STAT | STAT(e) (specify) | |
| 41 | Know Scottish “toy boy” (3) | KEN | double definition {ref. Barbie’s (boy)friend} | |
A fun endgame (which also started with TARZAN for me, though it took me a while to find the vertical pairs).
However the gridfill itself was probably my fastest ever, so perhaps a little too gentle eg on the straight anagrams of 16a and 25a, the ‘hidden words’ of 24d and 34d, and the double definitions.
But it was good to get a break after what feels like a few tough weeks, so thank you to Chalicea and of course HG.
HG – I think it’s an over-complication to introduce the “prose and the passion” here. There are simply four sets of potential pairs, symmetrically distributed around the grid, and the task is to connect them through appropriate exchanges, leaving real words. If the preamble had expressed itself as plainly as this, I might even have solved the end-game myself, rather than getting obsessed with the idea that we should somehow be rearranging things to produce the 14 letter E Morgan Forster in a central position. As it was, I simply failed to connect. While it didn’t delay me much, I raise an eyebrow at ROCKIER as a double definition; there’s certainly a ROCK dove, but not a ROCKIER dove, and I think it might have rated a question mark. Thanks to HG for the elucidations, and to Chalicea for a perfectly fair puzzle.
Sagittarius @2: in Chambers (under rock^1) it gives “rocker or rockier noun the rock dove”.
I enjoyed solving the clues and collecting the extra letters. I recognised the name E M Forster from the circled letters before getting the title Howards End, and I found what was obviously the epigraph in the ODQ. As for making the connections, I found the four pairs of linked words in the grid but could not work out what exchanges to perform until I entered just those eight thematic words in a blank grid (entering SALT twice initially, until I could see what was going on). The solution stared me in the face, involving the fewest letters (14). A great concept and execution.
Thanks to Chalicea and HG.
I have to be honest and say I thought the preamble very ambiguous as to whet we were meant to do with the words (cf Sagitarius). I’m sure it seems obvious in hindsight but there was no clear indication that they had to be ‘joined’ by basically making them adjacent (rather than eg drawing a link between them). I had to phone a friend.
Distinctly stark contrast to previous weeks; perhaps a little too stark as Arnold@1 suggests. Having said that, I completely failed the endgame, even though I did notice pepper and salt. If I’d noticed Tarzan, I might have tried harder, but instead decided to wait till Tuesday. But a nice construction; thanks to Chalicea and HG
HG@3: thanks; my failure, as so often!
After posting a few weeks ago that I’d got about halfway on my first inquisitor attempt, I worked with a friend to solve the one two weeks before this puzzle. This week I managed one on my own for the first time! Definitely made my week. It really helped that I guessed the epigraph and the novel before any clues had started (thanks to the TV show), I doubt I’ll be so lucky again!
Clue-wise I was also thrown by ROCKIER and although I got the wordplay for ETAPÉ I was unsure on the definition. The other one that tripped me up was ASAR – why is rock AA?
Thanks Chalicea and HolyGhost!
Erin, you will see at the foot of the very first column in Chambers that AA is a rock. It is a very useful word for setters. I too was surprised to find that the ROCKIER is a bird. Apologies to some IQ solvers who find my clues too easy. For the endgame, this time, I was hoping to send solvers to the E M Forster novel (not the game show) where they would find that the heroine, Margaret’s, concern was to connect disparate elements. I felt that TARZAN and TONIC were fairly generous hints. As always, I was delighted that the crossword was enjoyed. Many thanks, of course, to Holy Ghost.
I was very grateful for this being on the gentler side so I wasnt left stranded.
Loved TV version, must see the film some day.
u still needed a nudge for the endgame
Thanks C
@10 Thanks, Chalicea, you learn something new every day! My bookmark is currently on page 10 of Howard’s End, maybe I’m due another attempt at it
Erin @11: small point – no apostrophe in title of book. (Same goes for Finnegans Wake.)
Enjoyed as usual. Lots of thanks to Chalicea and HolyGhost. Nothing much to add except the personal experience of spotting TARZAN long before the thematic book or author became clear, and trying to remember which if any Edgar Rice Burroughs novels even had an epigraph!
Connecting TARZAN with JANE and PEPPER with SALT seemed the thing to do, but not enough cells were affected and like arnold at @1 I was slow to see the vertical connectees.
This was a welcome surprise for me, following 2 DFNs. Plenty of excellent clues without being too difficult. I did what I thought was required for the end game and smugly waited for the above blog which then shattered my delusion! Similarly to Sagitarius @2, I decided that I had to Only Connect the letters of the author’s name in the correct order by interchanging letters in rows 8 & 9. In my haste, I misread the premble and thought this to be done in 4 steps which, with the help of some Scrabble tiles, I managed to do. I had spotted TARZAN at some stage but was so fixated that my approach was connect, sorry, correct that I did not even look at the rest of the grid again. Oh well!,
Many thanks to Chalicea for a great idea, beautifully executed, which I am ashamed I did not spot. Thanks also to HG for putting me right.