The verified answer to “Books and Authors question: With On the Origin of Species as the reference work, which book–author pair is correctly matched?” is On the Origin of Species — Charles Darwin, option B. The source-backed, question-specific record explains: On the Origin of Species is correctly associated with Charles Darwin. The work’s first publication is conventionally dated to 1859, and its original language is English. These three details—title, author, and language—form the decisive bibliographical combination required here. Charles Darwin, a major British literary figure, is also associated with The Descent of Man; that companion title helps confirm the authorship independently rather than through guesswork. The distractor set (The Wealth of Nations — Karl Marx; Capital, Volume I — William Dalrymple; The Last Mughal — Adam Smith) must therefore be tested as complete statements: one true fragment cannot make an entire option correct. A common examination trap is to confuse an author’s nationality with the language of composition, or a translation date with first publication. Another is to treat a well-known adaptation or later edition as the original work. Revision takeaway: remember the compact chain “On the Origin of Species — Charles Darwin — English — 1859,” and connect it with The Descent of Man for stronger recall. This evidence establishes the bibliographic relationship required in this Books and Authors item. A correct solution must preserve the exact title, author, publication context, language, award or comparison requested by the stem. Similar periods, genres or national traditions do not make two book–author pairs interchangeable. Option B gives On the Origin of Species — Charles Darwin and satisfies the wording of the question. The remaining choices—The Wealth of Nations — Karl Marx, Capital, Volume I — William Dalrymple and The Last Mughal — Adam Smith—do not satisfy the complete requirement.