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Tarzan and the Madman

by Edgar Rice Burroughs Book 23 in the Tarzan series.

First published 1964

2.5(5)

Reports spread that Tarzan is kidnapping women and attacking communities, but the culprit is an unstable impostor who claims both Tarzan’s identity and divine powers. When Sandra Pickerall is abducted, the real Tarzan follows the trail to rescue her and restore his name.

The manuscript belongs to the late colonial world of Tarzan's later adventures, where isolated settlements, expeditions and European travellers still shape the surrounding setting. The impostor plot turns that familiar landscape into a story about reputation and identity, forcing Tarzan to hunt a man whose crimes are being committed in his name.

The impostor’s delusion is more dangerous because Tarzan’s name already carries authority among communities that know the reputation but not the man himself. The false identity permits kidnapping and intimidation until the real Tarzan can establish what has happened. The novel explores how legend can escape its owner, turning a heroic public image into something another person can imitate for destructive ends.

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