One unclued light is a publication (two words). The others are relevant figures (all in Chambers) who appear in a form suggested by the publication’s title.

Across

1 Maybe camping, emptied lavatory diligently (8)
8 Heartlessly shakes young animals (4)
12 Earl leaves part of UK, touring king’s avenues (5)
16 Bed of rock’s silicon lines (4)
17 Return dirty old dishes (5)
18 Letter by doctor, one giving lozenges (6)
24 Irritation on street a pain when running (6)
25 Hesitation, beset by dire last warnings (6)
27 I must enter large gallery with openings (7)
29 Implements silent reforms in country (8)
33 A fruit tree cut back in nettles (6)
35 Turn over smooth seaweed (4)
39 One with grid completed beginning to yawn unappreciatively (12)
40 Vessel’s breaking point over here! (4)
41 Church’s ringers in filthy places (8)

Down

2 American interrupts writer turning tide (4)
3 Northerner second behind European runner (6)
4 Tighter clues? That is right (7)
5 Girl following soldiers gets bacterium (10)
6 Shoots son lost at sea (7)
7 Libertine covered by PM — queen’s people providing spin? (11)
8 Song from soprano kept in hand, partly (5)
9 Cope with client getting rough and greedy (10)
10 Discovers county’s hidden unknown section (6)
13 Investigations seek criminal in bathrooms (8, hyphened)
15 Pound shelf, gripping round hammer (11, hyphened)
19 Poorly PM welcomes Liberal? Not so much (10)
20 Numberless bitterns, or a cuckoo with two beaks (10)
21 Quickly eating dictator’s nutritive substance (8, two words)
26 Soldiers following board with a foreign address (7)
29 Open University partners getting better (6)
30 Can winning excite? (6, two words)
31 Austen hero’s measures of permeability (6)
32 Scots tax small, temporary dwelling (5)
36 Strike, holding large part of dagger (4)

A first prize of £30 for the first correct solution opened on 30 November. There are two runners-up prizes of £20. (UK solvers can choose to receive the latest edition of the Chambers Dictionary instead of cash— ring the word ‘Dictionary’.) Entries to: Crossword 2237, The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP. Please allow six weeks for prize delivery.