Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle

TARZAN, LORD OF THE JUNGLE - 1928

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Written

May to Jul 1927

ERB's working title

Tarzan the Invincible

First published

Blue Book magazine, Dec 1927 to May 1928

Magazine title

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle

First hardcover edition

A C McClurg & Co, Sep 1928

Book illustrator

J Allen St John

Filmed

BACKGROUND
The period 1927 to the end of 1929 was a period of great productivity for Burroughs. Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle was the first of eight works of remarkable variety - three Tarzans, one featuring a crossover into the Pellucidar series; four different sequels (an Apache, a juvenile, a Mars and a Pellucidar); and a new adventure set in Cambodia. This new Tarzan revisited his old "two warring cities in a lost world" theme but with a novel medieval twist. Donald Kennicott of Blue Book paid $5,000 for the story and it appeared as a six-part serial from December 1927 to May 1928. This was to be the last Burroughs Tarzan book published by McClurg, ending a 14-year association that began with Tarzan of the Apes back in 1914. Ed felt that other adventure authors, like Zane Grey, were earning higher royalties than he was and he began to entertain the idea of publishing his own books. J Allen St John, who began illustrating Tarzan books in 1915 with The Return of Tarzan would also be forced to end his his long collaboration with McClurg because of this move. (Porges)

PLOT
Cruel slave traders had invaded the jungle of Tarzan of the Apes. Now they were headed toward a fabled empire of riches which no outsider had ever seen, intent on looting. And toward the same legendary land was stumbling the lost James Blake, an American whom Tarzan had vowed to rescue. Following their spoors, the ape-man came upon the lost Valley of the Sepulcher, where Knights Templar still fought to resume their Holy Crusade to free Jerusalem. Soon Tarzan, true Lord of the their ancient motherland, was armed with lance and shield, mixed into their jousting and ancient combat. It was then that the slavers struck! (1984 Ballantine paperback)

SOURCES
• Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Man Who Created Tarzan by Irwin Porges, 1975, Brigham Young University Press
COVERS
• Boros Vallejo cover from 1984 Ballantine paperback edition is from personal collection
• J Allen St John cover from the dustjacket of the 1928 A C McClurg hardcover edition was pilfered from an eBay auction item
• Edward Mortelmans' cover from 1965 Four Square Books edition is from my personal collection
• Marcel Laverdet cover from 1996 French Bibliothéque Verte edition was pilfered from an eBay auction item
LYNX
• The full text of this novel is available on-line from Project Guttenburg's Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle page
• Read a summary of this novel at Tangor's Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle Summarized page
• Colourful paperback covers are at Nick Knowles' Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle page
CAPTURE
• Bag yourself a copy of this novel at Amazon.com's Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle page or try eBay

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