The Son of Tarzan

The Son of Tarzan is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was written between January 21 and May 11, 1915, and first published in the magazine All-Story Weekly as a six-part serial from December 4, 1915-January 8, 1916. It was first published in book form by A. C. McClurg & Co. in March, 1917 and has been reprinted numerous times since by various publishers.

Plot summary

Alexis Paulvitch, a henchman of Tarzan's now-deceased enemy, Nikolas Rokoff, survived his encounter with the ape-man in The Beasts of Tarzan and wants to even the score. He lures Jack, Tarzan's son, away from London and into his clutches, but the youngster escapes with the help of the ape named Akut.

The pair then flees into the deep African jungle where two decades earlier Tarzan himself had been raised. Jack Clayton, now on his own, becomes known as Korak the Killer and builds a reputation for himself in the jungle. Like his father before him, he finds his own place among the great apes, and also like his father, meets and rescues a beautiful young woman, Meriem, the daughter of a Captain in the French Foreign Legion, who was also a Prince (Prince de Cadrenet), named Armand Jacot.

Arguably, the book is as much about Meriem, wife of Korak, as it is about Tarzan's son.

Adaptations

Burroughs' novel was the basis of the fifteen part silent film serial of the same title, the first part of which was released in 1920.

The book has been adapted into comic form by Gold Key Comics in Tarzan no. 158, dated March 1967, with a script by Gaylord DuBois and art by Russ Manning. DC Comics also began an adaptation in its Korak comic, but adapted only the initial portion of the story, using it as the springboard for original stories featuring Korak's quest for a kidnapped Meriem.

References

• Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 67. 

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Son of Tarzan

• ERBzine.com Illustrated Bibliography: The Son of Tarzan
• Text of the novel at Project Gutenberg
• Son of Tarzan public domain audiobook at LibriVox
• Edgar Rice Burroughs Summary Project page for The Son of Tarzan