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Many thanks to Brendan for an unusual (nearly unique in my experience), but challenging and highly enjoyable Prize.
Heavily themed, a theme even I could notice, and one which should be familiar to regular Prize solvers. A couple of possible sub-themes as well?
I found this in the upper range of difficulty, and took a long time to get started. The last 5 or so clues were stubborn holdouts.
FOI 17, LOI 18. Many clues are cleverly cross-referenced.
COD is 20, which is really brilliant IMO. Too many contenders/runners-up to list (at least 9!).
Hope other posters like this puzzle as much as I did!

The heathens among you should look away now - this is not the puzzle for you:-)

This week's Prize is by Brendan and there are several biblical references, although I did initially think there might be a Beatles theme - but no!

FOI was 10a followed by 2d.

I'd say this is every bit as difficult as last week and there are still a few I can't fully parse, like the homophone part of 8d and the "victim of crime" part of 20a and all but the definition in 13a, and there is only one word that fits 19a but why? So there is still a bit of work to do on this one 😜

If you do get stuck there is a hidden and an initial letters, both in the downs. There are also a couple of anagrams but these are cross-referenced with other clues.

COD - A toss-up between 21a and 29a - both excellent with lovely surfaces:-)

Thanks to Brendan for a challenging puzzle.

As always, please feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you thought of the puzzle - did you enjoy the religious references? And remember, if you get stuck, you can always ask for a hint.

Stay safe:-)

Brendan,
8: for the homophone, pronounce the surname in his native language.
19a: consider the theme from 2 Prizes ago (4 Jun), 1a and 10a there are further hints.
20: "...rob...pay..."

Thanks Geeker,

20a - That's great.

8d - I think they speak about 4 languages where he comes from (French, German, Italian and Romansh) and try as I might I can't get any of them to sound like a craft material?

Just got it:-)

Beatrice? Harry? :-)

Geeker,

What did you make of the frequent appearances of that other Guardian setter in this crossword?

Brendan,
That's what I found so unusual. I liked it a lot, but (on further reflection) mostly because of the ingenious weaving of the setter into the ancillary themes that you mentioned in your first post. Perhaps some will find it over the top or even blasphemous in a (crossword, not religious :-) ) way... For instance, I can only recall Araucaria being so frequently referred to in certain puzzles, but those were tributes to a legendary figure.

Thanks Geeker,

I know what you mean, and I also think it could be a valuable aid in solving some of the clues. I'd be interested to know if 'you know who' was aware of what Brendan was going to do beforehand - I suppose he must have been:-)

Finally got there - and as with you guys, a spate of total blankness toward the end. Like Brendan, FOI was 10a. I really had fun cracking this one. A little surprised by Brendan's theme suggestion, bearing the SE quadrant answers. I'm sure that was a result of the joy of completion. There seemed to be two or three themes going on at different levels. Was never able to parse 18d although the answer is clear. LOI's were 26a and 27d. Is 26a what you call an @lit? No matter; almost time for dinner !