The unclued lights (four of three words) provide a literary quotation, its speaker and its author.

Across

1 Animal pit (5)

11    Between sensitive areas at home, American’s escape decision on reflection (10)

13    Softening rough green lint (9)

16    Girl’s native in America (7)

17    Strauss’ operatic lead unusually receiving money for kiss (7)

19    Perhaps someone of ‘negotiable virtue’ found pros supplanting cons (10)

21    Cornered bird in clutches of Irish deputy (5)

24    State expressions of pain and grief (4)

28    Banker’s maxim (5)

30    Put through the mill perhaps, Pope recited Galatians’ introduction outside (5-5)

33    Windbag occasionally presents royal occupant of Castle Adamant? (3)

36    Scottish screen captivates one lazy rascal (7)

37    Island cannibal ingests stuffing (4)

38    He directs one number for girl at end of dance (9)

39    Naming the subject? Nothing in Vietnam is surprising (10)

40    Develop Georgia in two different ways? (7)

41    Reportedly pound mixtures (5)

Down

2 Plated, peeled food dropped off by Deliveroo’s cooked (8)

3 Makes glossy sauce initially with vegetables (6)

4 Digging in, Milan team excel down under (9)

6 Could a poet create any sonnet? (8)

7 China’s charitable covers (5)

8 Circuit in Monza offered Lewis abundant pole positions (5)

9 Long-term paybacks from a speeding loon’s crash (3,3,8)

10    Chap ditches first love for initial excitement – this could be touchy (6)

12    Bristly appendage seen primarily in 7 (6)

22    On occasions, seadog will ‘Aye’ nervously (6)

23    A tenor unruffled about Miltonic song (8)

25    Perhaps Beethoven’s dedicatee follows star briefly to write a story (8)

26    In depot a moped held back hybrid (6)

29    Cerebral coverage from measure employed by old disreputable woman (6)

31    Bladed one breaks streak (6)

32    Abruptly closes opening, wins every trick (5)

34    Help up North American woman (5)

35    Grass caught old piece of Persian shrapnel (5)

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A first prize of a £30 John Lewis voucher and two runners-up prizes of £20 vouchers for the first correct solutions opened on 16 March. Please scan or photograph entries and email them (including the crossword number in the subject field) to crosswords@spectator.co.uk, or post to: Crossword 2741, The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP. Please allow six weeks for prize delivery.