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Thanks, jono. Looking back, I can see that your earlier post said as much but I didn't twig what you meant. I'm still in the dark (as, indeed, are the clues!) about the redactions in 25 and 5/23.

succinctly and elegantly explained - thank you, jono ... But: there surely must be more to it: a 5-letter word gives one letter in 18, whereas it takes four words in 19. What is the crucial 4-letter word in 15? And why are the fourth letter of 24 and the last three letters of 27 redacted? And 25 is wholly redacted when it's only part of a character. Anyway, it's certainly a novel form of Genius torture to ask the solver to deduce the clue from the solution ...

Prospero I agree, I expect there’s more to it. And I bet you’re glad not to be blogging this one!

My thoughts were… 15 is play, 18 is priest or prince.
19 don’t know.
24 crosses two different characters so the two relevant letters are both redacted.
25 is consistent given the whole answer is part of a character, but the redacted words are a mystery to me.

Jono and Prospero, given that this is a monthly puzzle, is it fair to those who have not started it yet, to reveal redacted words at this stage?

yes, of course, with 21/27 I was reading the grid sloppily - thanks, jono .. and certainly I sympathise with whoever has to blog this one!

hi mattrom - our posts crossed, andI hear what you say. I've only revealed one redaction and there's no other word that goes with gratia, as far as I know ...

An early suspicion became a PDM when the two part character emerged. Thanks to KGB (whoever that may be!)

Is it just me or is reCAPTCHA being spectacularly annoying today?

I am wondering if 25 is an "offcut" of a nursery rhyme? - would fit with the central theme ...

OK. I concede. I need any pointers that anyone might have with respect to

16d (…worms)
21d (Veto…)
20/4 (Mole…)

Thanks so much.

16 ends with conventional crossword 4-fetter word for "sickens". And you need to get a T out of whatever the redaction is.
21 - veto is 2 letters, with "exhausted" (eviscerated) spies at the end
20/4 - a with collection of books around a 2-letter word for earth gives you a word for spy, then you have to "treat" it so it becomes a mole - what you end up with is not really a word, despite the (one word -10)