### Clue: Novelist found in dingy island retreat for the most part (7)
### Answer: DRABBLE 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Novelist
 DRAB(dingy/gloomy) + **reversal of**(… retreat) "Elba"(the Mediterranean island) **minus its last letter**(for the most part).**
Answer: Dame Margaret or her father, John, both English novelists.