A new woman, starting an era (11)
I believe the answer is:
elizabethan
'starting an era' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how one could define the other.
'a new woman' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found within the answer.
'woman' could be 'lizabeth' and 'lizabeth' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for elizabethan that I've seen before include "swan once seen on Avon?" , "like Sir Philip Sidney" , "Of an earlier queen's times" , "Of former queen's period" , "Age from 1558 to 1603 (or since 1952?)" .)