The Return of Tarzan was serialized in New Story Magazine from June to December 1913, then published in book form by A.C. McClurg & Co. in 1915. The novel picks up where Tarzan of the Apes left off: Tarzan has renounced his claim to Jane Porter (who believes him a savage) and is traveling to Paris. There he becomes entangled with Russian spies, a femme fatale, and the French intelligence service before circumstances return him to Africa.
The second half of the novel takes Tarzan back to the jungle, where he discovers the lost city of Opar — a surviving outpost of Atlantean civilization, ruled by the priestess La, who becomes obsessed with Tarzan. This element — lost civilizations hidden in remote jungles — would become a staple of the Tarzan series and of pulp adventure fiction generally. Burroughs drew on the popular archaeological fantasies of his era (the discovery of Great Zimbabwe, theories about Phoenician settlements in Africa) to create settings that were exotic, dangerous, and treasure-rich.
The novel established several patterns that would persist through the series: Tarzan moves between civilization and jungle, demonstrating competence in both; Jane is frequently in danger and requires rescue; treasure provides motivation for villains; and the lost civilizations of Africa offer settings for adventure that don’t require the author to engage with actual African societies.
Collecting The Return of Tarzan
First edition (A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1915): Red cloth binding, gold lettering.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $1,500–$4,000
- Very good/very good: $600–$1,500
- Good: $200–$600