Possible Clues:

• Novel that begins ''Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents''
• Marches men to well - it has been moved
• New tome — it'll beat a nineteenth-century book
• Jo and Beth, say, landed a heavy blow in return, a warning sign
• March 4?
• Work time not well organised
• Novel ignited reactionary ribbing — a bad sign?
• Novel by female author
• 1860s novel that is the basis for this puzzle's theme
• Small 'w' on sign? That's novel