Faust is one of the most renowned works of European literature. Goethe started work on it in the 1770s when still a young man, only finishing it near the end of his life, some fifty years later. In this new version the accomplished dramatist Howard Brenton has faithfully retained the mighty scope, linguistic daring and philosophical intricacy of the original. Initially commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to condense the material into two plays with a combined playing time of six hours, for this edition Brenton has restored several of the passages that had to be omitted from performance on grounds of length.