9 h 41 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 41 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout 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?
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like jungle adventure, wild-boy tales, daring rescues and old-fashioned romance mixed with humor. It suits anyone curious about the story behind a famous name.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mutiny strands a lord and his wife
- Kala takes the baby from the cabin
- A hairless boy finds his strengths
- Tarzan teaches himself to read
- Tarzan wins the tribe and then the throne
- Kulonga's death and the village of fear
- Strangers land and Tarzan watches over them
- Jane, Terkoz and a night in the clearing
- D'Arnot's rescue and the road to civilization
- Heredity, upbringing and the pull of two worlds
- How the story is told
Who’s who
- TarzanThe orphaned son of Lord Greystoke, raised by apes, who teaches himself to read and wants to learn whether he belongs with apes or men.
- KalaA young female ape who loses her baby and raises the human child as her own, defending him fiercely.
- KerchakThe brutal king of the ape tribe, who hates Tarzan and keeps his rule through fear.
- Jane PorterAn American professor's daughter, marooned on the African coast, who is drawn to the forest man who saves her.
- Professor PorterJane's absent-minded father, who comes to Africa seeking a buried treasure and keeps wandering into danger.
- William Cecil ClaytonA courteous young Englishman and Tarzan's cousin, who loves Jane and protects her party as best he can.
- Paul D'ArnotA French naval lieutenant whom Tarzan saves, and who becomes his friend and teacher of language and manners.
- Samuel T. PhilanderThe professor's loyal, nearsighted secretary, who tries to keep his employer out of trouble.
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Tarzan of the Apes
by Edgar Rice Burroughs · 1912
An English lord's orphaned son grows up among apes and teaches himself to read from a child's alphabet book.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What happens to a baby left alone in an African cabin beside two dead parents? In Tarzan of the Apes, a great ape named Kala hears his cry, and the son of an English lord is raised in the jungle as one of her own.
Tarzan of the Apes at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 35 min4 h 25 min fast, 6 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 79,400 words28 chapters
- Pages
- 238 pages359 in large print
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1912by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A mutiny strands a lord and his wife
John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, is a young English official sent to look into the treatment of African workers. He sails with his wife, Lady Alice, on a small ship called the Fuwalda. Its crew is brutal, and its captain rules with a belaying pin and a revolver.
Clayton warns the captain of a plot, and the captain answers with a shout. Clayton calls him an ass, and the last chance for peace is gone. The mutiny breaks out, and the officers are thrown over the side. Black Michael, now in charge, spares the Claytons because Clayton once spared him. He lands them on a wild, empty shore and leaves them tools and food.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1912
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-of-the-apes.
Burroughs, E. R. (2026). Tarzan of the apes. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-of-the-apes (Original work published 1912)
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-of-the-apes.
@book{burroughs2026tarzan,
author = {Burroughs, Edgar Rice},
title = {Tarzan of the Apes},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tarzan-of-the-apes},
note = {First published 1912}
}
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What is Tarzan of the Apes about?
It tells how the orphaned son of an English lord is raised by great apes in Africa. He teaches himself to read, meets other humans for the first time, and must decide where he belongs.
Who is Kala in Tarzan of the Apes?
Kala is a female ape whose own baby dies. She adopts the human child and raises him with fierce love, and Tarzan sees her as his true mother.
Who are Jane Porter and William Cecil Clayton?
Jane is the American daughter of Professor Porter and the woman Tarzan comes to love. Clayton is a young English gentleman who travels with her party and also cares for her.
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.
More by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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