The Complete Plays

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Not a very academic edition - Rated
I bought this edition of Marlowe's plays for a Renaissance Literature course at uni, expecting a wealth of notes and annotations to explain social and historic contexts. I was quite disappointed to discover that the notes were very meagre and the only aspect of the plays that is covered in the notes is the mythological references. I think Marlowe is a brilliant playwright, but without a good edition you miss so much of the Renaissance thinking that went into his works.

The Penguin edition is not all negative, however; the editor explains the existence of the two versions, basing his edition on the 1616 B text, providing an Additional Notes section in which uses of the A text are given. Both versions of Act v scene i (the Old Man's Speech) are presented, though sadly not adequately discussed.

I'd recommend this only to people who don't like to be distracted by looking at the Notes at back of the book. If you're interested in the thought and influences on Marlowe and his work, you'll need a more academic edition.

A good read - Rated
Christopher Marlowe is a practically unknown writer... as Shakespeare's teacher it is a mystery as to why the focus is solely upon Shakespeare... in schools, plays, etc.

After reading this book it gave me a sense of familiarity as to where Shakespeare got his humour, wit, ideas and great skill for writing harrowing tragedies and love stories.

Unfortunately Marlowe's life work consists of only 7 plays, but the saying quality not quantity most deifnitely takes its toll here.

Great Dramatist, fine addition - Rated
Christopher Marlowe is the first great dramatist in the english language and this is a fine addition of all his plays. It is well laid out with suitably adequate notes for classical and historical alusions. In short it is a good edition of some great plays. Dr Faustus, Tamburlaine & Edward II are classics.

Very useful for A-level - Rated
This is a useful edition for those teaching or studying the plays of Marlowe. It includes the 1616 edition of Faustus, as used for the A-level, and a brief comparison to the 1604 version. The scripts are well laid out and edited, though the notes are a little sparse. Marlowe is a brilliant playwright and well worth reading, and this is a comprehensive introduction to his work.