Since the 18th century, scholars have long speculated about whether Shakespeare is the sole author of his plays—but recent results of text analysis research have convinced Oxford University Press to credit Christopher Marlowe as a coauthor of the three Henry VI plays in a new edition, The New York Times reports.

The twenty-three scholars from five countries who researched the plays for the New Oxford Shakespeare edition—which has been released online, ahead of the print release—ran tests to determine if any patterns reflective of Marlowe’s idiosyncratic writing appeared in Shakespeare’s works. According to the results, seventeen out of forty-four of Shakespeare’s works most likely had input from others, and the three Henry VI plays showed a convincing enough presence for Oxford University Press to officially name Marlowe as a coauthor—a move that no publisher has made before.

“No one has had the confidence to put the name actually on the title page,” said the volume’s general editor, Gary Taylor. “Which is perfectly reasonable because the only reason we can do it now is because Shakespeare has entered the world of big data.”                                                      

But not every scholar agrees with the Press’s decision. “I believe Shakespeare collaborated with all kinds of people... but I would be very surprised if Marlowe was one of them,” said Carol Rutter, professor of Shakespeare and performance studies at the University of Warwick, to BBC News. “Yes, Shakespeare collaborated. But it’s much more likely that he started his career working for a company where he was already an actor, and collaborated not with another playwright but with the actors—who will have had Marlowe very much in their heads, on the stage, in their voices.”

All versions of the New Oxford Shakespeare Edition are available online, and the print edition for students and faculty will become available in November 2016.

Related reading: Shakespeare’s Globe Theater has announced that it will be replacing artistic director Emma Rice after her brief, two-year tenure.

In other Shakespearean news, an excerpt from Margaret Atwood’s Hagseed—a retelling of The Tempest—was published at Literary Hub.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia.