SSC CGL - Detailed Guide 2025
Self-Paced Course
Famous International Authors and Their Works
Reference: Lucent GK, NCERT Class 6–12
Classic International Writers
| Book / Work | Author | Theme / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare | Tragic love story; Renaissance drama |
| Hamlet | William Shakespeare | Psychological tragedy; “To be or not to be…” |
| Macbeth | William Shakespeare | Ambition and fate |
| The Origin of Species | Charles Darwin | Theory of Evolution; Natural Selection |
| The Communist Manifesto | Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels | Political pamphlet advocating socialism/communism |
| Das Kapital | Karl Marx | Critique of capitalism |
| The Wealth of Nations | Adam Smith | Foundational text of modern economics |
| The Diary of a Young Girl | Anne Frank | Holocaust memoir; diary of a Jewish girl |
| War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | Historical epic set during the Napoleonic Wars |
| Anna Karenina | Leo Tolstoy | Tragic love story in Russian high society |
| Don Quixote | Miguel de Cervantes | Satirical novel; considered first modern novel |
| The Brothers Karamazov | Fyodor Dostoevsky | Philosophy, morality, and faith |
| Les Misérables | Victor Hugo | Justice, revolution, and redemption in France |
| Faust | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | German tragedy; deals with knowledge and morality |
SSC Tip: Shakespeare, Karl Marx, and Adam Smith are frequently repeated in questions.
Modern & Popular Writers
| Book / Series | Author | Notes / Recognition |
|---|---|---|
| Harry Potter Series | J.K. Rowling | 7-book fantasy series; global bestseller |
| The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Philosophical novel on dreams and destiny |
| A Brief History of Time | Stephen Hawking | Science made accessible; on cosmology & time |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | Racial injustice in American South |
| 1984 | George Orwell | Dystopian novel; Big Brother, surveillance state |
| Animal Farm | George Orwell | Satirical allegory on Russian Revolution |
| The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | Thriller; controversial take on religion/history |
| The Fault in Our Stars | John Green | Young adult novel on love and illness |
| The Catcher in the Rye | J.D. Salinger | Coming-of-age classic |
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | American dream and materialism |
| The Old Man and the Sea | Ernest Hemingway | Man vs nature; Nobel Prize in Literature |
| The Lord of the Rings Trilogy | J.R.R. Tolkien | Epic fantasy series |
| Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen | Satire on marriage and society |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | Oscar Wilde | Beauty, morality, and decay |
SSC Tip: 1984 = George Orwell; The Alchemist = Paulo Coelho; Harry Potter = J.K. Rowling
Nobel Laureates in Literature
| Author | Work(s) | Country | Nobel Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabindranath Tagore | Gitanjali | India | 1913 |
| Ernest Hemingway | The Old Man and the Sea | USA | 1954 |
| Gabriel García Márquez | One Hundred Years of Solitude | Colombia | 1982 |
| Jean-Paul Sartre | (Declined Nobel) | France | 1964 |
| Albert Camus | The Stranger | France | 1957 |
| Hermann Hesse | Siddhartha | Germany | 1946 |
| Orhan Pamuk | Snow | Turkey | 2006 |
| Kazuo Ishiguro | The Remains of the Day | UK | 2017 |
SSC Tip: Tagore is the only Indian Nobel Laureate in Literature (Gitanjali – 1913)
Summary for Quick Revision
- Romeo and Juliet = Shakespeare; Diary of a Young Girl = Anne Frank
- The Origin of Species = Charles Darwin
- The Alchemist = Paulo Coelho; A Brief History of Time = Stephen Hawking
- Animal Farm = Orwell; 1984 = Orwell
Developed By Roopasree Challa
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