TARZAN OF THE APES

Tarzan is a central figure in American popular culture, beginning life in the pages of a pulp-fiction magazine and in a book that inspired numerous film and media adaptations. This new edition of the original novel places it in the context of its period with some fascinating related material.

The Introduction situates the novel not only in the pulp fiction industry but against the backdrop of adventure stories, European exploration in Africa, the feral child and nature versus civilization.

Appendices include selections of letters from readers to the editor of All-Story magazine where the novel first appeared, histories of feral children, African explorers and American advocates of self-reliance.

Up-to-date bibliography, chronology, explanatory notes.

Tarzan first came swinging through the jungle in the pages of a pulp-fiction magazine in 1912, and subsequently in the novel that went on to spawn numerous film and other adaptations. In its pages we find Tarzan's origins: how he is orphaned after his parents are marooned and killed on the coast of West Africa, and is adopted by an ape-mother. He grows up to become a model of physical strength and natural prowess, and eventually leader of his tribe. When he encounters a group of white Europeans, and rescues Jane Porter from a marauding ape, he finds love, and must choose between the values of the jungle and civilization.

The Tarzan of popular imagination bears only limited resemblance to Edgar Rice Burroughs's creation, and the complex backdrop of colonial appropriation, literary heritage, and nostalgic yearning from which he emerged. This new edition considers these contexts, as well as the enduring appeal of the King of the Apes.

Readership: Readers of popular fiction, adventure stories, American literature, students of popular fiction and culture, gender, and race studies