Novel said to encompass independent spirit (8)
I believe the answer is:
original
'novel' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'said to encompass independent spirit' is the wordplay.
'said' becomes 'oral' (I've seen this before).
'to encompass' indicates putting letters inside (I've seen this in other clues).
'independent' becomes 'i'.
'spirit' becomes 'gin' (alcoholic spirit).
'i'+'gin'='igin'
'oral' placed around 'igin' is 'ORIGINAL'.
(Other definitions for original that I've seen before include "Archetype, master copy" , "First; (an) odd character" , "Genuine" , "Novel - archetype" , "derivation" .)