Tarzan and the City of Gold
Dust-jacket illustration of Tarzan and the City of Gold | |
Author | Edgar Rice Burroughs |
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Illustrator | J. Allen St. John |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Tarzan series |
Genre | Adventure |
Publisher | Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. |
Publication date | 1932 |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
Pages | 316 |
Preceded by | Tarzan Triumphant |
Followed by | Tarzan and the Lion Man |
Tarzan and the City of Gold is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the sixteenth in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Argosy from March through April 1932.[1]
Plot summary
Tarzan rescues a warrior from a group of bandits known as shiftas, and learns that he is Valthor, a warrior of the lost city of Athne, the City of Ivory and capital of the land of Thenar. Tarzan is then captured by the insane yet beautiful queen Nemone of its hereditary enemy, Cathne, the City of Gold, capital of the land of Onthar. This novel is perhaps best known for two scenes; in the first, Tarzan is forced to fight Cathne's strongest man Phobeg in its arena. While an ordinary man might have been in trouble, Tarzan easily overpowers Phobeg.
The second scene, in which Tarzan is forced to fight a lion, starts with the ape man being forced to run away from a hunting lion, Belthar, which will hunt him down and kill him. Tarzan at first believes he can outrun the beast (lions tire after the first 100 yards at top speed). This lion, however, is of a breed specifically selected for endurance, and ultimately Tarzan must turn to face him, though aware that without a knife he can do little but delay the inevitable. His own lion ally, Jad-bal-ja, whom he had raised from a cub, arrives and intervenes, killing Belthar and saving Tarzan. Nemone, who believes her life is linked to that of her pet, kills herself when it dies.
Unusually for lost cities in Burroughs' Tarzan series, which are typically visited but once, Cathne and Athne reappear in a later Tarzan adventure, Tarzan the Magnificent. (The only other lost city that Tarzan visits more than once is Opar, which appears in four novels and is referenced in a juvenile story).
Comic adaptations
The book has been adapted into comic form by Gold Key Comics in Tarzan nos. 186-187, dated June–July 1970, with a script by Gaylord DuBois and art by Doug Wildey.
Popular culture
- In the cartoon series Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, elements from this story were used in "Tarzan and the City of Gold," "Tarzan's Return to the City of Gold," and "Tarzan and the Soul Stealer." A big difference is that the City of Gold was renamed Zandor and had been at war with Athne. In all three episodes, Tarzan had to deal with Queen Nemone (voiced by Joan Gerber in the first two appearances, Hettie Lynn Hurtes in the third appearance) and Tomos (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer). Another difference is that Phobeg (voiced by Ted Cassidy in the first two appearances, Alan Oppenheimer in the third appearance) becomes Tarzan's ally in those episodes.
References
- ^ Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. pp. 67.
- Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 133.
External links
- Tarzan and the City of Gold at Faded Page (Canada)
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Illustrated Bibliography from ERBzine.com: Tarzan and the City of Gold
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Summary Project page for Tarzan and the City of Gold
- Text of the novel at Project Gutenberg Australia
Preceded by | Tarzan series Tarzan and the City of Gold | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- Tarzan of the Apes (1912)
- The Return of Tarzan (1913)
- The Beasts of Tarzan (1914)
- The Son of Tarzan (1915)
- Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916)
- Tarzan the Terrible (1921)
- Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1922/23)
- Tarzan and the Ant Men (1924)
- Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1927/28)
- Tarzan and the Lost Empire (1928/29)
- Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1929/30)
- Tarzan the Invincible (1930/31)
- Tarzan Triumphant (1931/32)
- Tarzan and the City of Gold (1932)
- Tarzan and the Lion Man (1933/34)
- Tarzan and the Leopard Men (1932/33)
- Tarzan's Quest (1935/36)
- Tarzan and the Forbidden City (1938)
- Tarzan and the Foreign Legion (1947)
- Tarzan and the Madman (1964)
- Tarzan: The Lost Adventure (1995)
- Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1919)
- Tarzan the Untamed (1920)
- Tarzan the Magnificent (1939)
- Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins (1963)
- Tarzan and the Castaways (1965)
short stories
- Tarzan's First Love (1916)
- The Capture of Tarzan (1916)
- The Fight for the Balu (1916)
- The God of Tarzan (1916)
- Tarzan and the Black Boy (1917)
- The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengeance (1917)
- The End of Bukawai (1917)
- The Lion (1917)
- The Nightmare (1917)
- The Battle for Teeka (1917)
- A Jungle Joke (1917)
- Tarzan Rescues the Moon (1917)
- Tarzan the Untamed (1919)
- Tarzan and the Valley of Luna (1920)
- The Tarzan Twins (1927)
- Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins with Jad-Bal-Ja the Golden Lion (1936)
- Tarzan and the Magic Men (1936)
- Tarzan and the Elephant Men (1937/38)
- Tarzan and the Champion (1940)
- Tarzan and the Jungle Murders (1940)
- Tarzan and the Castaways (1941)
adventures
- The Man-Eater (1915)
- The Cave Girl (1925)
- The Eternal Lover (1925)
- Jungle Girl (1932)
- The Lad and the Lion (1938)
- A Princess of Mars (1917)
- The Gods of Mars (1918)
- The Warlord of Mars (1919)
- Thuvia, Maid of Mars (1920)
- The Chessmen of Mars (1922)
- The Master Mind of Mars (1928)
- A Fighting Man of Mars (1931)
- Swords of Mars (1936)
- Synthetic Men of Mars (1940)
- Llana of Gathol (1948)
- John Carter of Mars (1964)
- At the Earth's Core (1914)
- Pellucidar (1915)
- Tanar of Pellucidar (1929)
- Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1929)
- Back to the Stone Age (1937)
- Land of Terror (1944)
- Savage Pellucidar (1963)
- Pirates of Venus (1934)
- Lost on Venus (1935)
- Carson of Venus (1939)
- Escape on Venus (1946)
- The Wizard of Venus (1964)
- The Land That Time Forgot (1918)
- The People That Time Forgot (1918)
- Out of Time's Abyss (1918)
speculative fiction
- Beyond Thirty (1915)
- The Moon Maid (1926)
- The Monster Men (1929)
- "The Resurrection of Jimber-Jaw" (1937)
- Beyond the Farthest Star (1941)
- Tales of Three Planets (1964)
- The Bandit of Hell's Bend (1926)
- The War Chief (1927)
- Apache Devil (1933)
- The Deputy Sheriff of Comanche County (1940)
- The Outlaw of Torn (1914/1927)
- I Am a Barbarian (1967)
- The Rider (1918)
- The Mad King (1926)
novels
- The Mucker (1914/16)
- The Girl from Farris's (1916)
- The Oakdale Affair (1918)
- The Efficiency Expert (1921)
- The Girl from Hollywood (1923)
- Pirate Blood (1970)
- Marcia of the Doorstep (1999)
- The Oakdale Affair and The Rider (1937)
- Beyond Thirty and The Man-Eater (1957)
- Minidoka: 937th Earl of One Mile Series M (1998)
- You Lucky Girl! (1999)
- Forgotten Tales of Love and Murder (2001)
- Brother Men (2005)