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tennieleek - it's "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable".I think the most recent is the 18th edition - published 2009.

13ac is the setting for "Under Milkwood" - Dylan's famous backward invention.

PS and 4ac was Charles Dickens' Cloisterham - his image of Rochester, in Kent.

Rather poor, though, I thought, in that they were all so easily found with possession of Brewer's.

I struggled with this without Brewer's. Usually, a bit of calculated Googling will yield the answers to an obscure theme, but not so easy this time.

Thanks AJT1 but like you I find this sort of puzzle unsatisfying, all that's needed is the relevant book. Off to the recycling pile with it.

Is 23ac. Abilene? Surely it is a real place name.

It's where "Ike", president Eisenhower, is buried:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abilene,_Kansas#Notable_people

Sorry, the full URL doesn't work automatically here.

Just copy & paste.

Thanks. I had just come back to the crossword after a couple of days and thought it was one of the thematic place names! I'd forgotten there was a cryptic clue. DOH!

Didn't initially catch the accentuation in your query. I see what you mean.

Bretton is a real placename & would seem to fail the test, though the reference must be Bronte.

Ditto for 38/39D. All the others are purely fictional, as far as I know.