Get the real story of the legendary ape man and follow his wild adventures in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s original Tarzan of the Apes and its thrilling sequels.
Defined by The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as “a remarkable creation, and possibly the best-known fictional character of the [20th] century,” Tarzan reigns as a pop culture icon. Nearly everyone is familiar with his physical feats and signature yell. Tarzan’s story has been told through dozens of movies, several radio and TV series, and even a comic strip—but it all began in 1914 with Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic novel, Tarzan of the Apes.
After the death of his parents, young Tarzan is raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes. Thanks to his unusual upbringing, he becomes physically strong and uniquely skilled in climbing, running, swimming, hunting, fighting, and vine-swinging. Yet, unlike many film portrayals of the character, the Tarzan from literature is also intelligent and articulate. His strengths as a thinker and communicator ultimately enable him to become the leader of his ape tribe—and win the heart of the daughter of an American scientist, Jane.
Tarzan of the Apes and many of its sequels, including The Return of Tarzan, Beasts of Tarzan, and Son of Tarzan, are available in audio and deliver an exciting listening experience. The first novel focuses on Tarzan as he becomes acquainted with his love interest, Jane Porter, and discovers the dangers of the human race. In subsequent novels, Burroughs covers what happens next for Tarzan and Jane, and he also looks back at Tarzan’s childhood in the jungle.
Tarzan of the Apes is a classic and has therefore been recorded many times and read by several acclaimed narrators. The talented performers of the novel include David Ian Davies, Will Damron, Alan Munro, and Simon Prebble, as well as Finn J.D. John, whose reading of the first two books in the series—Tarzan of the Apes and The Return of Tarzan—is available on Audible in one volume. Each narrator brings his own flair to the story and his own take on the leading man, the king of the jungle.
