Summary
Summary of Tarzan and the Golden Lion
Tarzan and the Golden Lion at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 5 h 5 min4 h fast, 6 h slow
- Length
- 72,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1922by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
Mercy begins an unlikely bond
A lion cub is left crying beside his dead mother when Tarzan finds him on the way home with Jane and Korak. The little animal snarls and strikes at his hand, but Tarzan admires his courage and decides to raise him. His low voice soon quiets the cub.
At a village, Tarzan finds a nursing dog and gently helps the two animals accept each other. The cub becomes Jad-bal-ja, the Golden Lion. His place in Tarzan's life begins with protection rather than force.
Key idea 2
Kindness gives command its strength
Tarzan teaches Jad-bal-ja to fetch, follow scents, and wait for a whispered command.
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Key idea 3
Greed gathers behind a borrowed face
In London, Flora Hawkes has found the man her scheme needs: Esteban Miranda, an actor who can pass for Tarzan.
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Key idea 4
A familiar face becomes a trap
With his money nearly gone, Tarzan sets off for Opar despite Jane's pleas.
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Key idea 5
La chooses love over her throne
In Opar, the priest Cadj plans to kill the newcomers.
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Key idea 6
Fear hides behind a golden ruler
Beyond Opar, Tarzan and La enter a wooded valley where huts hang from branches.
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Key idea 7
Tarzan refuses to leave La behind
Tarzan returns to find the village empty and La captured by the Bolgani.
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Key idea 8
A disguise cannot supply courage
While Tarzan is in the valley, Esteban meets the Waziri, who welcome him as their missing chief.
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Key idea 9
Two kinds of power stand opposed
The adventure sets two kinds of power against each other.
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who it’s for
Readers who love jungle adventure, daring rescues, lost cities, and clever villains in disguise will enjoy this book, as will anyone drawn to stories of animals and loyalty.
What this book is
What happens when a man raised by apes meets his own double in the jungle he rules? In Tarzan and the Golden Lion, Tarzan faces an impostor who wears his clothes, copies his walk, and fools even his loyal Waziri warriors. The man behind the disguise wants the gold of a lost city.
Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote this adventure soon after the Great War, as a later entry in his series about the ape-man. It opens with a lioness killed in a clearing and her cub crying beside her. Tarzan picks the cub up, and that small act shapes everything that follows. You meet greedy London schemers, a valley of gorilla-men, a priestess of an ancient city, and a lion who obeys one whispered word.
In this summary
- 1Mercy begins an unlikely bondFree
- 2Kindness gives command its strength
- 3Greed gathers behind a borrowed face
- 4A familiar face becomes a trap
- 5La chooses love over her throne
- 6Fear hides behind a golden ruler
- 7Tarzan refuses to leave La behind
- 8A disguise cannot supply courage
- 9Two kinds of power stand opposed
A lion cub finds an unlikely foster father
The story begins outside a rocky cavern, where Sabor the lioness nurses her last cub. She smells a man approaching and charges. The warrior hurls his spear as she leaps, and both fall dead. The cub is left crying beside his mother.
Tarzan finds him on the road home with his wife Jane and his son Korak. The cub snarls and strikes at the stranger's hand, and Tarzan smiles at his courage. He says he will raise the cub himself. He soothes the little animal in a low voice, and soon it stops fighting.
The cub needs milk, so Tarzan stops at a village, where the chief Umanga gives him a nursing dog. With great patience Tarzan persuades the dog and the cub to accept each other. They name the lion Jad-bal-ja, the Golden Lion, and the dog Za. A small act of mercy can build a bond that no force could ever make.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
Why does Jad-bal-ja willingly obey Tarzan?
Right. “Jad-bal-ja obeys Tarzan because kindness came before command.”Not quite. “Jad-bal-ja obeys Tarzan because kindness came before command.”
What does La give up to save Tarzan?
Right. “Instead she leads Tarzan out through dark tunnels and up into the mountains, giving up her throne to save the man she loves.”Not quite. “Instead she leads Tarzan out through dark tunnels and up into the mountains, giving up her throne to save the man she loves.”
What makes the Waziri begin to doubt Esteban?
Right. “When a rhinoceros charges, he runs, and the Waziri look at him with pity and doubt.”Not quite. “When a rhinoceros charges, he runs, and the Waziri look at him with pity and doubt.”
Go deeper: the whole of Tarzan and the Golden Lion
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Who’s who
- Tarzan
- Lord of the Jungle, raised by apes, who adopts a lion cub and sets out to stop a thief who is using his face.
- Jad-bal-ja
- The golden lion, trained by Tarzan from a cub, who obeys him out of affection and carries great strength.
- Jane Clayton
- Tarzan's wife, brave and clear-headed, who rides into the jungle to find her missing husband.
- Korak
- Tarzan's grown son, who guards the family estate and doubts that any lion can truly be tamed.
- Flora Hawkes
- A former maid of the Greystokes who invents the plot to steal the gold of Opar.
- Esteban Miranda
- A vain Spanish actor hired to play Tarzan, who comes to believe he really is the ape-man.
- La
- High Priestess and queen of Opar, who loves Tarzan and flees her own city to save his life.
- Cadj
- The fanatical High Priest of Opar, who plots to seize power and sacrifice Tarzan to the Flaming God.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 72,400 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h 5 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 9 other languages
Questions about Tarzan and the Golden Lion
What is Tarzan and the Golden Lion about?
Tarzan raises a lion cub named Jad-bal-ja. Later, a group of London schemers hires an actor to impersonate Tarzan so they can rob the treasure vaults of Opar, and the real Tarzan must find them and stop them.
Who is Jad-bal-ja?
Jad-bal-ja is the golden lion, an orphaned cub Tarzan adopts and trains. His name comes from the language of Pal-ul-don and means the Golden Lion. He grows into a faithful, powerful companion.
Who is Esteban Miranda?
Esteban Miranda is a Spanish actor with Tarzan's build. Flora Hawkes recruits him to impersonate Tarzan for the robbery of Opar, and he slowly begins to believe that he truly is the Lord of the Jungle.
What is Opar in this book?
Opar is a ruined city in Africa, built long ago by colonists from Atlantis. Its people are priests and warriors, and its treasure vaults hold gold ingots that tempt Tarzan and the thieves.
Is Tarzan and the Golden Lion easy to read?
The book is told in short chapters with clear action, lively dialogue, and a steady chain of rescues, chases, and surprises. The plain style and vivid scenes make it easy to follow from the first page.
Cite this edition
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan and the Golden Lion. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-and-the-golden-lion.
Burroughs, E. R. (2026). Tarzan and the golden lion. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-and-the-golden-lion (Original work published 1922)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan and the Golden Lion. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-and-the-golden-lion.
@book{burroughs2026tarzan,
author = {Burroughs, Edgar Rice},
title = {Tarzan and the Golden Lion},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-and-the-golden-lion},
note = {First published 1922}
}
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