Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke
Encyclopedia
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
by Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
. It presents the life story of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
' literary hero Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
as if he were a real person.
The book is written on the premise that Tarzan was an actual person with original author Burroughs having written highly fictionalized memoirs for him. Farmer is then telling the "real story". Farmer examines the psychological make up of John Clayton (Tarzan's real name in the novels) and his peers, based on close readings of the various Burroughs books, accepting some of Burroughs' concepts and rejecting others in an attempt at greater verisimilitude. Among his conceits is that, since the apes described by Burroughs had a spoken language that Tarzan learned, these animals must have been "pithecanthropoids": "a group of rare hominids who are probably now extinct" and "not great apes".
The most recent edition of Tarzan Alive includes an afterword by Win Scott Eckert
Win Scott Eckert
Win Scott Eckert is an author and editor, best known for his work on the literary-crossover Wold Newton Universe, created by author Philip José Farmer, but much expanded-upon subsequently by Eckert and others. He holds a B.A...
and an introduction by Mike Resnick
Mike Resnick
Michael Diamond Resnick , better known by his published name Mike Resnick, is an American science fiction author. He was executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe.-Biography:...
.
The text of Tarzan Alive links the characters from the Tarzan mythos to dozens of other fictional literary characters as members of Farmer's "Wold Newton family
Wold Newton family
The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the science fiction writer Philip José Farmer...
".
Editions
- Hardback:
- Doubleday (1972)
- Softcover reprints:
- Popular Library (1973 & 1976)
- Playboy (1981)
- Revised edition:
- Bison Books (2006), Foreword by Win Scott EckertWin Scott EckertWin Scott Eckert is an author and editor, best known for his work on the literary-crossover Wold Newton Universe, created by author Philip José Farmer, but much expanded-upon subsequently by Eckert and others. He holds a B.A...
; Introduction by Mike ResnickMike ResnickMichael Diamond Resnick , better known by his published name Mike Resnick, is an American science fiction author. He was executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe.-Biography:...
; Artwork by Jean-Paul GoudeJean-Paul GoudeJean-Paul Goude is a French graphic designer, illustrator, photographer and advertising film director. He created several well-known campaigns for brands such as Perrier, Citroën and Chanel....
; ISBN 0-8032-6921-8, softcover, 312 pp.
- Bison Books (2006), Foreword by Win Scott Eckert
See also
- Philip José Farmer bibliographyPhilip José Farmer bibliographyIn a writing career spanning more than 60 years , science fiction and fantasy author Philip José Farmer published almost 60 novels, over 100 short stories and novellas , two “fictional biographies”, and numerous essays, articles and ephemera in fan publications.-World of Tiers:Original...
, for other Tarzan-related Farmer works - Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic LifeDoc Savage: His Apocalyptic LifeDoc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life is a fictional biography by Philip José Farmer about pulp fiction hero Doc Savage.The book is written with the assumption that Doc Savage was a real person. Kenneth Robeson, the author of the Doc Savage novels, is portrayed as writing fictionalized memoirs of the...
(1973), another Farmer "fictional biography"