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I have virtually a fully completed grid, and 6 of the extra words in both across and down clues. However, their first two letters are not leading to anything useful, just gobbledegook. The acrosses, for instance, start with FAYC, I think. I presume we use them in clue order? Any thoughts, please.

Hi Dylan, FAYC is the correct start, and the letters are in clue order. Just look at the suspects you have for the next extra word, and google the 6 letters you have (however improbable they may seem). In one case you'll get the beginning of an old proverb.

Many thanks Mersaukt, That works a treat for the Acrosses. For the Downs, I have ALSC...., but again can't find anything sensible.

Beyond that, putting bars in to make 180 symmetry does not seem to be generating much that is useful. What sort of names are we looking for?

Thanks

The letters from extra words in down clues begin 'ALCO...' and probably don't make anything immediately recognisable. But they are the pseudonym of the writer responsible for the proverb, which is also an anagram of his name.

In the grid you have forename and surname of the writer, the title of a book, and 2 related characters. I didn't bother with the bars either !

I have the title of the book - that is two related characters - plus one character from the book and the forename and surname of the author but not the title of a book and two related characters? And a wonderful new word that I had never heard of that gave me rhe central letter!

Dylan, once you Google the across message (3,2,3,4,4), you'll get all the names you need. The five clashes are critical. Adding bars then becomes fairly easy.
I thought this was a great puzzle; easy at first, then difficult, then easy again. All about a subject I knew nothing about. Thanks Towser.

I have an almost-completed grid - I'm just struggling to finish off my final clue, 22a. I have all but the third letter and can think of two possibilities that might fit the definition but no idea about the wordplay.

Any hints?

Yes, you're correct, Notrab. The title is 2 related characters, both in the grid. The other character in the grid is a friend of one. The theme isn't one I know well. I found Michel de Montaigne, who came along just a little later, very good reading.

mathmo, the definition is the first three words (3,2), and the wordplay tells you to drop the last letter from a phrase given by the last three words (2,4)

I liked this too, but have one niggle: "... thematic word (one of the names jumbled with extra letters..." The thematic word has no U or F, which rules out all names save the author's surname, and that has two As whereas our word has only one, so the statement isn't literally(!) true, is it?