| PORTIA | Heroine of "The Merchant of Venice" (6) |
| LAMENT | Mourn the tale of the Merchant Navy |
| ENTREPRENEUR | The risk-taking, moneymaking producer of The Merchant of Venice, for instance (12) |
| SHYLOCK | Main antagonist of The Merchant of Venice |
| SHAKESPEARE | Writer of The Merchant of Venice |
| ANTONIO | Title character of The Merchant of Venice (7) |
| IMOGEN | Heroine of the Shakespeare play Cymbeline (6) |
| CAVELL | Edith Louisa _; nurse heroine of the First World War (6) |
| THISBE | Heroine of the play in A Midsummer Night's Dream (6) |
| WEAVER | Who played Ripley, heroine of the Aliens films? (6) |
| HELENA | Heroine of the Shakespeare play All's Well that Ends Well (6) |
| MERIDA | Heroine of the 2012 animated film Brave, voiced by Kelly Macdonald (6) |
| MARGIE | "My Little" TV heroine of the '50s |
| REDDUSTER | Colloquial term for the flag of the merchant Navy (3,6) |
| REDESIGN | Draw up a new version, missing out the middle of the Merchant Navy flag (8) |
| ABLESEAMAN | Member of the merchant navy who has been trained or certified in all routine duties (4,6) |
| HARLOWE | Surname of the heroine of the novel Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson (7 |
| ISABELARCHER | Eponymous heroine of the 1881 Henry James novel The Portrait of a Lady (6,6) |
| PITCHER | Molly ___, nickname of the legendary heroine of the battle of Monmouth during the American Revolutionary War (7) |
| DAAE | Christine ___, heroine of "The Phantom of the Opera" |
