Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, generally considered the eleventh in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. The book begins with Tarzan having a relaxing afternoon sunbathing on the back of the mighty Tantor, but when Arab raiders try and shoot the elephant, not having spotted the Ape Man resting on his back, the elephant is spooked and Tarzan is knocked off by a passing branch as the beast charges away. This novel marks the change in plot lines from Tarzan's life and family to his adventures as a seemingly itinerant adventurer who functions as a protector of a host of different characters in each succeeding book. In this story, Tarzan finds an outpost of European knights and crusaders from a forbidden valley hidden in the mountains of Africa.

バロウズが生んだ「ターザン」は、この第十一作目において家族という枠組みを脱し、崇高な孤独を纏う遍歴の英雄へと昇華します。特筆すべきは、アフリカの秘境に息づく中世騎士道との邂逅です。野生の王が、失われた文明の残滓と対峙する構図は、単なる冒険小説の枠を超え、人間性とアイデンティティの根源を問う壮大な叙事詩となっています。 実写やアニメの映像版では華麗なアクションが強調されがちですが、原作の真髄は、自然の呼吸と一体化するターザンの鋭敏な五感を綴る濃密な文体にあります。文字でしか味わえない野性の詩情と、禁じられた谷に漂う重厚な歴史。視覚情報を超えたイマジネーションの奔流を、ぜひその手で受け止めてください。