9 h 41 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 238 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 238 pagesAbout this book
What makes you human when the only family you know is a tribe of great apes?
In Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan of the Apes, a mutiny strands an English couple on the coast of West Africa. Their son grows up in the jungle, protected by the ape Kala. With no knowledge of other people, Tarzan must learn to survive among creatures stronger than himself.
A cabin left by his parents holds books, a blade, and clues to a life he cannot yet understand. As Tarzan teaches himself to read, his world begins to widen. The arrival of Jane Porter and her companions brings new dangers—and sharpens his longing to discover who he is.
What you’ll discover
- A fierce mother's love Meet Kala, whose protection gives a vulnerable child a place among the apes.
- Strength beyond brute force Follow a curious boy who must use intelligence where muscle and fangs fail.
- Secrets inside the cabin Step into the quiet place where books open a path toward Tarzan’s hidden identity.
- Strangers on the shore Encounter Jane Porter and a human world that challenges everything Tarzan knows about belonging.
- Birth against upbringing Explore the question beneath the action: does family history or experience shape a person?
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy fast adventure, wild settings and old-fashioned heroes, and anyone curious about the origin of a character they only know from films. Readers who dislike the racial attitudes of early twentieth century fiction may find parts of it hard going.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mutiny strands a noble couple
- A child is born far from home
- A mother ape adopts the white baby
- Growing up strong among the apes
- The cabin gives him books and a blade
- First contact with human beings
- A new party lands on the coast
- Birth against upbringing
- How Burroughs builds his tale
Who’s who
- TarzanThe son of an English lord, raised by apes, who teaches himself to read and longs to learn what he truly is.
- KalaA female ape who loses her own baby, adopts the white infant, and protects him fiercely against her own tribe.
- KerchakThe fierce leader of the ape tribe, who distrusts the strange human child and rules by strength.
- TublatKala's mate, who dislikes the white boy from the start and bullies him throughout his childhood.
- Jane PorterA brave young woman from Baltimore, stranded on the African coast with her father, who becomes the first white woman Tarzan sees.
- Professor Archimedes Q. PorterJane's absent-minded father, a scholar who is easily lost in his thoughts while danger gathers around him.
- William Cecil ClaytonA young Englishman in the Porter party, courteous and steady, who is linked to Tarzan's family.
- Lieutenant D'ArnotA French naval officer who comes into Tarzan's life and helps him find language and a place among people.
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- Audiobook
- 9 h 41 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 238 pages: 9,95 USD when you start free, 16,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 238 pages: 17,95 USD when you start free, 23,95 USD on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Tarzan of the Apes
by Edgar Rice Burroughs· 1912
A boy raised by apes encounters the human world.
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Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A mutiny strands a noble couple
The story opens in England, with a young nobleman named John Clayton, Lord Greystoke. He is a man of good sense and some courage, and the British Colonial Office trusts him with a delicate task. He is to investigate reports that a European power is mistreating native people in a part of West Africa. He marries Lady Alice Rutherford and takes her with him, though she is ready for a hard voyage only in spirit.
They sail on a sailing ship called the Fuwalda. The captain is rough, and the crew is worse. Clayton sees a quarrel on deck in which the captain beats a seaman, and he later hears the crew grumbling in whispers. Burroughs lets the reader feel that the voyage is heading for trouble long before it comes.
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The author
Edgar Rice Burroughs
1875–1950 · American adventure novelist
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American writer born in Chicago in 1875. He wrote novels about Tarzan and novels set on Mars. His first Mars story appeared in 1912 and became the book A Princess of Mars in 1917. He later lived in California and died in Encino in 1950.
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What is Tarzan of the Apes about?
It tells of an English lord's infant son, left orphaned on the African coast and raised by a tribe of great apes. He grows up in the jungle, teaches himself to read, and meets other people for the first time.
Who raises Tarzan in the book?
A female ape named Kala, who has lost her own baby, takes the human child and raises him as her son. Her mate Tublat and the leader Kerchak do not welcome him.
What does the name Tarzan mean?
In the invented language of the apes in the novel, Tarzan means White Skin. The apes give the boy this name because his skin is pale and hairless, unlike theirs.
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