The Identity of Tarzan’s Parents. Who are they? To begin to understand who this man and woman were, we first need to look back at Tarzan’s earliest adventures which were originally written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Specifically, we must go back to the beginning of this twenty-four novel saga which was titled Tarzan of the Apes. And it is here we learn almost everything we know about Tarzan’s parents who were revealed to be named John and Alice Clayton known as Lord and Lady Greystoke of England.