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Oh dear I seem to be starting this week's thread again. That probably means other people have much more interesting Saturdays than me, and the pile of unwritten Christmas cards is as big as ever.
I found the puzzle fairly straightforward, helped by a lucky guess in the rich hunting ground for possible meanings of "drunk" (28 down).
The endgame was pleasing, and I laughed out loud when I read the apposite description of the theme.
I can offer hints if wanted...

For anyone not so lucky as Wakeling, this source has the word under the second head, though it is part of a compound ('bitch-***), meaning very drunk.
http://scots-online.org/dictionary/english_scots.asp

And if and when anyone wants answers, I'll link in a separate thread.

Aah ... the soft poetry of the gadhelic tongue.

Great going, wakeling.
I have solved a few.
Not very lucky with extra letters.

Hints on 1d and 43a welcome.

Help please! I have a full grid except for 44a. My collection of extra letters don’t spell anything useful and I haven’t spotted a title or author. I have spotted some superfluous words in a few clues. And hints gratefully received.

One of the usual abbrebiations for "America" should give you the initial letter. Don't expect to recognise the resulting word without Chambers.
The title and author come as a result of following the instructions. The superfluous words in the clues help you get there, if you study the grid.

44a, I have Utis.

Not parsed.

sunray - I found 44a difficult to parse as well. Possibly best not to give possible answers clearly at this stage?

For 43a the Frenchman's name is similar to a Russian one.
For 44a the word for struggle is T_I_.
In 1d the house is a Spanish one.

Good point, wakeling.

Struggle could be a 4 letter word. Cut to 3 and 1 extra.

f you can give hints on 1d and 43a, will be appreciated.