Tarzan's Quest

"Tarzan's Quest" was the 19th of the Tarzan novels written by Edgar Rice Burroughs and represents the last time that Jane Clayton, Lady Greystoke, was a major character. In fact, she is really the main character in the story, which was originally published as a six-part serial in "The Blue Book Magazine" from October 1935 to March 1936 under the title "Tarzan and the Immortal Men." ERB scholars have hypothesized that the author, who was going through a divorce when he was writing the story, was really writing a romance for Florence Dearholt, whom he would marry the following year. For those who are away of the biographical details of Burroughs' life you can have fun wondering if the Princess Sborov is his soon to be ex-wife. However, such speculation takes away from enjoying this adventure romance, which is one of the few halfway decent Tarzan stories in the second half of the series.Jane Clayton is at the Savoy, when she runs into the Princess Sborov (the former Kitty Krause), who shares some gossip. It seems an American ganster told her abut witch doctor who had a secret formula that keeps you young forever. The Princess is financing an expedition to find this exlir of youth and Jane agrees to accompany them home to Africa. That is where Tarzan is investigating the disappearance of teenage girls in the area. At that point there is one of those fierce storms that ERB was enamored with and the plane crashes, leaving Jane to try and lead her bickering group to safety. Tarzan gets captured by Bukena warriors, so Jane really is on her own. Plus there is that witch doctor and his secret formula out there somewhere in the jungle as well.The working title of this story was actually "Tarzan and Jane," which makes perfect sense because for most of the book the chapters alternate between what is happening with the two characters. The Tarzan plot line is pretty much a series of delaying actions to keep the Lord of the Jungle from saving the day too song and allowing Jane a chance to show what she can do without her husband around. Early in the series after he had created La of Opar, Burroughs regretted having married Tarzan off and actually had a novel where he killed Jane off. "Tarzan's Quest" would be the antithesis of that earlier impulse and it is fair to say that Jane actually does more in terms of heroics than all of the previous Tarzan books combined. There are few Tarzan novels really worth reading once you get past the first ten, and this would be one of them.