Order of Book Series
0

Tarzan Books in Order

Tarzan contains 27 books, published between 1912 and 1999. The first book is Tarzan of the Apes (1912) and the newest is Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time (1999). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
27
Published
1912–1999
Confirmed
24 of 27 titles
Pages on record
2,846 in 13 of 27 books
See all 27 books in order Printable Tarzan checklist

Tarzan is an adventure series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, set largely in Africa around the character the books are named for. Tarzan of the Apes (1912) opens the run, followed by The Return of Tarzan, The Beasts of Tarzan, The Son of Tarzan and Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. Twenty-seven catalogued titles reach Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time in 1999, three of them written with Philip Jose Farmer after Burroughs. The books are short, at a median of 192 pages.

How many Tarzan books are there?

Tarzan has 27 books, released between 1912 and 1999.

Tarzan Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 27 Tarzan books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 1 of the Tarzan series (1912)
  2. Cover of Tarzan Alive by Philip José Farmer, book 1 of the Tarzan series (1972)
  3. Cover of The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 2 of the Tarzan series (1913)
  4. Cover of Doc Savage by Philip José Farmer, book 2 of the Tarzan series (1973)
  5. Cover of The Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 4 of the Tarzan series (1916)
  6. Cover of Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 7 of the Tarzan series (1919)
  7. Cover of Tarzan the Terrible by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 8 of the Tarzan series (1921)
  8. Cover of The Tarzan Twins by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 11 of the Tarzan series (1927)
  9. Cover of Tarzan and the Leopard Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 18 of the Tarzan series (1935)
  10. Cover of Tarzan's Quest by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 19 of the Tarzan series (1935)
  11. Cover of Tarzan and the Forbidden City by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 20 of the Tarzan series (1938)
  12. Cover of Tarzan the Magnificent by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 21 of the Tarzan series (1939)
  13. Cover of Tarzan and the Castaways by Edgar Rice Burroughs, book 24 of the Tarzan series (1965)
  1. 1
    Tarzan of the Apes1912 · 245 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1912245
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 1
    Tarzan Alive1972 · 316 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972316
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 2
    The Return of Tarzan1913 · confirmed 3/4
    1913–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 2
    Doc Savage1973 · confirmed 2/4
    1973–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 3
    The Beasts of Tarzan1914 · confirmed 3/4
    1914–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 3
    Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time1999 · confirmed 2/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 4
    The Son of Tarzan1916 · 280 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1916280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 5
    Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar1916 · confirmed 3/4
    1916–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 6
    Jungle Tales of Tarzan1919 · confirmed 3/4
    1919–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 7
    Tarzan the Untamed1919 · 444 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1919444
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 8
    Tarzan the Terrible1921 · 316 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1921316
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 9
    Tarzan and the Golden Lion1923 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1923192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 10
    Tarzan and the Ant Men1924 · confirmed 3/4
    1924–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 11
    The Tarzan Twins1927 · 60 pages · confirmed 3/4
    192760
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 12
    Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle1927 · confirmed 3/4
    1927–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 13
    Tarzan and the Lost Empire1928 · confirmed 3/4
    1928–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 14
    Tarzan the Invincible1930 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1930192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 15
    Tarzan Triumphant1931 · confirmed 3/4
    1931–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 16
    Tarzan and the City of Gold1932 · confirmed 3/4
    1932–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 17
    Tarzan and the Lion Man1934 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1934192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 18
    Tarzan and the Leopard Men1935 · 35 pages · confirmed 3/4
    193535
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 19
    Tarzan's Quest1935 · 191 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1935191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 20
    Tarzan and the Forbidden City1938 · 191 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1938191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 21
    Tarzan the Magnificent1939 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1939192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 22
    Tarzan and the Foreign Legion1947 · confirmed 3/4
    1947–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 23
    Tarzan and the Madman1964 · confirmed 3/4
    1964–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 24
    Tarzan and the Castaways1965 · confirmed 3/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Tarzan Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Tarzan books run from Tarzan of the Apes (1912) to Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time (1999), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Tarzan in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Tarzan books in order?

You should read the Tarzan books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Tarzan book also stands alone.

What order should you read Tarzan books in?

Read them in publication order, starting with Tarzan of the Apes (1912), the earliest published title. After it come Tarzan Alive (1972), The Return of Tarzan (1913), Doc Savage (1973) and The Beasts of Tarzan (1914); the numbered table above continues from there.

What is the newest Tarzan book?

Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time (1999) is the newest Tarzan book released so far.

Is there a new Tarzan book coming?

No next Tarzan book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Tarzan at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Tarzan title on record dates from 1999, 27 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Tarzan books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
2,846 pages across the 13 of 27 books with a recorded length, a median of 192 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Tarzan books, 8 of 27, were published in the 1930s.
Attribution
Of the 27 titles, 24 are credited to Edgar Rice Burroughs and 3 to Philip José Farmer.

What the Tarzan books are about

22 of the 27 Tarzan books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: action & adventure is tagged on 9 of 22. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

Other series by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.