My LOI was 25ac when I realised that S_U_E_E was not in fact going to be the name of a French author, and brought back fond memories of reading The Flight of the Phoenix in my schooldays; why I’m not at all sure, as that was by Elleston Trevor and is a completely different beast to A Town Like Alice. Is there any sensible reason I could have had them mixed up in my head? Answers on the usual postcard.
I liked the &lits and the cleverness of 14dn (only fully understood post-submit) but I’ll give my clue of the day to 4dn, pace those of us who aren’t fond of druggy clues in our puzzles, just because Pulp was my favourite band back in the day. Was even Britpop a quarter of a century now, really? I did what generation after generation swears it won’t do and got old. Thanks to the setter for the memento mori… and the puzzle too of course!
ACROSS
1 Monkey beginning to descend tropical tree (8)
TAMARIND – TAMARIN [monkey] + D{escend}
5 Exile foreign ruler possessing good English (6)
EMIGRE – EMIR [foreign ruler] “possessing” G [good], + E [English]
10 Sleeper in tent with 150 flies around? You need this! (6,9)
INSECT REPELLENT – (SLEEPER IN TENT + CL*) [“flies around”], semi-&lit
11 Drop litres in mouth before Christmas, when year’s out (7)
GLOBULE – L [litres] in GOB [mouth], before {y}ULE [Christmas, minus Y = year]
12 What may come with making me a lord (7)
EARLDOM – (ME A LORD*) [“making…”], semi-&lit
13 Some mathematical iterations, they ought to be learned (8)
LITERATI – hidden in {mathematica}L ITERATI{tions}
15 Foul rubbish gathering at home (5)
TAINT – TAT [rubbish] “gathering” IN [at home]
18 City’s losing to Newcastle initially, bringing crowd together (5)
PRESS – PRES{ton}’S = “city’s”, subtract TO and the first letter of Newcastle.
20 Knocked back unknown gloop outside solitary drinker’s study? (8)
OENOLOGY – Y GOO [unknown | gloop] “outside” LONE [solitary], all reversed
23 Dawning of new progressive movement (7)
NASCENT – N ASCENT [new | progressive movement]
25 Novelist halved year’s rest (7)
SHUTEYE – SHUTE [novelist Nevil] + YE{ar}
26 Bucket contains rags dad recycled (4,4,3,4)
RAIN CATS AND DOGS – (CONTAINS RAGS DAD*) [“recycled”]
27 Serve without stiffness (6)
SUPPLY – double def – the two halves of which are pronounced rather differently, though!
28 Supports family making headwear (8)
BEARSKIN – BEARS KIN [supports | family]
DOWN
1 Patient sorting of silver, dividing incomplete samples (6)
TRIAGE – AG [silver] “dividing” TRIE{s} [“incomplete” samples]
2 Revolutionary Soviet cum “capitalist” (9)
MUSCOVITE – (SOVIET CUM*) [“revolutionary”]. Capitalist as in one who lives in a capital city, and well might you surround that with quotation marks, sirrah!
3 One isolated from Conservative Left entering new employment (7)
RECLUSE – C L [Conservative | left] “entering” REUSE [new exmployment]
4 Possible source of drugs turned up E’s and whizz (5)
NURSE – reversed E’S + RUN [whizz]
6 Digger’s long period in American’s shed (4,3)
MOLE RAT – ERA [long period] in MOLT [shed, at least the way the Americans spell it]
7 Excessive desire to have browser — Google’s first up (5)
GREED – DEER [browser] + G{oogle}, the whole reversed
8 Grounds for incarcerating one male judge (8)
ESTIMATE – ESTATE [grounds] “for incarcerating” I M [one | male]
9 Cephalonia’s interior is steaming — get as far from the sun as possible (8)
APHELION – ({c}EPHALONI{a}*) [“is steaming”]
14 Renegade contessa finally set for the future without duke (8)
APOSTATE – {contess}A + POST{d}ATE [set for the future, minus its D for duke]
16 Warm corner in valley by old well (9)
INGLENOOK – IN GLEN [in | valley] by O OK [old | well]
17 Boiling uniform with fastening sleeves (2,2,4)
UP IN ARMS – U [uniform] with PIN ARMS [fastening | sleeves]
19 Design aid: tool for drawing street for page (7)
STENCIL – {p->ST}ENCIL [tool for drawing, but with a ST for street instead of its P for page]. Of course a 
verlaine never uses a pencil, doing even his barred puzzles in pen, and he has never regretted it. Well maybe once or twice.
21 Wash three articles from the Continent (7)
LAUNDER – LA UN DER [three articles from the Continent, two French, one German]
22 Soul singer’s lead part in Evita (6)
PERSON – S{inger}, the lead part thereof, in PERON [Evita]
24 Stint as captain stretching over months (5)
SKIMP – SKIP [captain] “stretching over” M [months]
25 Charming American uplifted by welcome (5)
SUAVE – US [American] reversed, by AVE [welcome]
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