This collection of twelve short stories delves into the formative years of Tarzan, the iconic Lord of the Apes, exploring his adolescence in the African jungle long before his encounters with civilized society. Unlike the grand adventures of the main Tarzan novels, Jungle Tales offers intimate vignettes of Tarzan’s struggles to reconcile his human intellect with his primal upbringing among the Mangani great apes.
Each tale is a coming-of-age parable: Tarzan hunts the mythical “Gorilla-Balu” (a lion-ape hybrid), courts the she-ape Teeka in a poignant and awkward romance, grapples with superstition after killing a tribal witch doctor, and even questions the existence of a god after discovering a book of Bible illustrations. Burroughs infuses these stories with humor, pathos, and sharp observations on identity, morality, and the clash between instinct and reason.
A rare glimpse into Tarzan’s untamed youth, Jungle Tales enriches the mythos of literature’s most famous feral hero—proving that even a king of the jungle was once an outsider searching for his place in the world.
“Not just battles with beasts, but with the self—where every scar shapes a legend.”
For the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ collector, please check our Edgar Rice Burroughs First Edition Identification Guide
