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Nelson Lee (detective) facts for kids

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Nelson Lee
Birds of Prey Nelson Lee.jpg
First appearance A Dead Man’s Secret (19 September 1894)
Created by Dr. John William Staniforth (as Maxwell Scott)
Information
Gender Male
Occupation Detective
Nationality British

Nelson Lee is a fictional detective who featured in the Amalgamated Press papers over a 40-year run. Created in 1894 by Maxwell Scott (the pseudonym of Dr. John Staniforth 1863-1927) he appeared in various publications including The Halfpenny Marvel, Pluck, The Boys' Friend, Boy’s Realm, The Boys' Herald and the Union Jack In 1915 he was given his own story-paper series, The Nelson Lee Library, which ran until 1933.

In all Lee appeared in over 2500 tales set in every corner of the globe, making him one of the most published fictional detectives of all time.

Publication history

The 1890s: The solo years

Halfpenny Marvel 46
Nelson Lee's Debut: A Dead Man’s Secret

Nelson Lee made his debut in A Dead Man’s Secret in The Halfpenny Marvel #46, on 19 September 1894. The world would meet him at the open of Chapter 2:

Nelson Lee, the famous detective, sat in his room in Gray’s Inn Road, dealing with his morning’s correspondence. So great was the demand for his advice and help that nine-tenths of his replies were to the effect that “Mr. Lee regrets that, owing to the number of cases he already has on hand, he is unable to deal with Mr. So-and-so’s case.” He had already replied in this strain to an earl whose family jewels had been stolen, a banker whose clerk had absconded, and a well-known member of the Jockey Club whose favourite race-horse had been poisoned, when he was interrupted by the entrance of his landlady, who handed him a card...

Halfpenny Marvel 74
The Jewel Thief

Lee was an immediate success and made his second appearance in Nelson Lee, Detective six issues later. He made his third appearance in The Adventures of Nelson Lee, in Union Jack Library #35, in December 1894 then made a final appearance in The Halfpenny Marvel in The Jewel Thief in issue #74. From May 1895 he began appearing in Pluck featuring in 18 tales over the next three years. That summer he also appeared in The Mystery of the Malton Moors published in the Comic Home Journal. In the 1895 Christmas issue of Pluck he starred alongside detectives Sexton Blake and Gideon Barr. The tale, Christmas Clues, established Lee and Blake as friends. The two would team up repeatedly over the next 40 years. During this period Lee worked alone for the most part, accepting cases from his office on Gray’s Inn Road. Tales from this era include:

Nelson Lee's Solo Adventures
Title Story Paper Date
A Dead Man’s Secret The Halfpenny Marvel #46 September 19, 1894.
Nelson Lee Detective The Halfpenny Marvel #52 October 30, 1894
The Adventures of Nelson Lee
Includes 4 tales:
A Christmas Conspiracy
The Headless Robin
The Professor's Gold
the Hermit of the Rigi
The Union Jack #35 Christmas Issue, December 20, 1894
The Jewel Thief The Halfpenny Marvel #74 April 2, 1895
A False Scent Pluck #24 May 4, 1895
The Thief of the Black Ruby Pluck #52 November 16, 1895
The Mystery of the Malton Moors Comic Home Journal 1895
Christmas Clues Pluck #56 December 7, 1895
Nelson Lee Detective Pluck #71 March 27, 1896
A Threefold Mystery Pluck #108 December 12, 1896
No Clue Pluck #110 December 26, 1896
Vengeance Pluck #114 January 22, 1897
Saved from Siberia Pluck # 118 February 19, 1897
The Missing Admiral Pluck #137 July 2, 1897
The Mystery of the old Churchyard Pluck #142 August 6, 1897
A Christmas Mystery Pluck #158 November 26, 1897
The Black Brotherhood Pluck #160 December 10, 1897
The Theft of the Aztec Opal Pluck #161 December 17, 1897
Sons of Fire Pluck #174 March 18, 1898
One False Step Pluck #178 April 15, 1898
Captain Twilight Pluck #186 June 10, 1898
The Way of Transgressors Pluck #204 October 14, 1898
A Triple Tragedy Pluck #204 November 25, 1898
The Stolen Despatches Pluck #210 December 9, 1898
A Christmas Tragedy The Boys’ Friend #308 December 22, 1900
The Fatal Fingerprints The Boys’ Friend #319 February 1901

The 1900s: The Great Serials

Boys Friend Library 16
The Silver Dwarf

Towards the end of the 19th century Staniforth had a falling out with his editor and switched to publishing in other story papers. The era of the great Nelson Lee serials began with Birds of Prey a 20-part serial that ran in The Boys' Friend from July 27 to December 7, 1901. It was followed by The Silver Dwarf (Dec 7th 1901 to March 15, 1902) and The Missing Heir (March 29-August 9, 1902). Staniforth listed these as his favourite Nelson Lee tales.

Some of the popular Nelson Lee serials from this era include:

Nelson Lee Serials
Title Story Paper Date
Birds of Prey Boys’ Friend #1-26, 1901 1901
The Silver Dwarf Boys’ Friend #26-41 1901-1902
The Missing Heir Boys’ Friend #42-61 1902
Nelson Lee's Rival Boys' Realm #26-52 1902-1903
The Hidden Will Boys' Realm #64-84 1903-1904
Nelson Lee's Pupil Boys' Herald #2-26 1903-1904
The Great Unknown Boys’ Friend #157-189 1904-1905
Nipper's Schooldays Boys' Herald #73-97 1904-1905
The Football Detective Boys' Herald #118-138 1905-1906
The Black House Boys’ Friend #221-236 1905
Detective-Warder Nelson Lee Boys’ Friend #237-257 1905-1906
The Soldier Detective The Jester and Wonder #233-253 1906
The Captain of St. Ninian’s Boys' Friend #257-276 1906
The Iron Hand The Boys’ Herald #207-232 1907
The Fighting Fifth Boys' Realm #253- 1907
Britain Beyond the Seas Boys' Friend #353-387 1908
Detective Nipper Boys' Realm #488-502 1910-11
The New Bowler Boys' Realm #360-370 1909
Bowled Out Boys' Realm #371-383 1909
The Winged Terror The Boys’ Herald #329-349 1909-1910
The Golden Quest Boys' Friend #459-475 1910
Long Live the King Boys' Friend #479-528 1911
Nipper at St. Ninian's Boys' Friend #685-698 1912
Nipper's First Case Boys Herald 511
Cheer Boys Cheer 1
1912
The Film Detective Boys’ Friend #265-698 1914
On His Majesty’s Service
or The Master Spy
Boys’ Friend #698-712 1914-1915

The boy-detective: The creation of a new sub-genre

Nelson Lee Pupil
Nelson Lee's Pupil

In 1903 Nelson Lee's life changed forever. In Nelson Lee's Pupil he acquired an assistant: Richard Hamilton, better known as "Nipper". Nipper was a street urchin who made his first appearance in A Dead Man’s Secret ten years earlier. This retelling of their encounter ran from issues #2-26 in Boys' Herald and was subsequently republished in The Boys' Friend Library in 1907. The two would be inseparable for the next 30 years.

Following in Lee's footsteps, Sexton Blake was given a boy assistant, Tinker, the following year, in Cunning against Skill, a tale penned by William Murray Graydon in 1904. Tinker and Nipper were influential in the subsequent creation of boy-detectives in the British story papers with subsequent authors following the pattern that they established: "uncultured but extraordinarily sharp street urchins, rescued from poverty and obscurity by a famous London private detective."

A few of Nipper's more prominent cases include:

Nipper's Cases
Title Story Paper Date
Nelson Lee's Pupil Boys' Herald #2-26 1903-1904
Nipper's Schooldays Boys' Herald #73-97 1904-1905
The Captain of St. Ninian’s Boys' Friend #257-276 1906
Detective Nipper Boys' Realm #488-502 1910-11
Nipper at St. Ninian's Boys' Friend #685-698 1912
Nipper's First Case Boys Herald 511
Cheer Boys Cheer 1
1912

The Boys' Friend Library

Many of Scott's Nelson Lee serials were abridged and republished as complete tales in the Boys' Friend Friend Library.

Written by Maxwell Scott

Nelson Lee Adventures
Title Story Paper Date
Birds of Prey The Boys' Friend Library #4 October, 1906
The Silver Dwarf The Boys' Friend Library #16 April, 1907
The Missing Heir The Boys' Friend Library #17 May, 1907
Nelson Lee’s Pupil The Boys' Friend Library #19 June, 1907
The Great Unknown The Boys' Friend Library #24 August, 1907
The Stolen Submarine The Boys' Friend Library #25 September, 1907
Nelson Lee’s Rival The Boys' Friend Library #34 December, 1907
The Football Detective The Boys' Friend Library #62 September, 1908
A Slip of the Pen The Boys' Friend Library #107 January, 1910
The Hidden Will The Boys' Friend Library #138 November, 1910
The Black House The Boys' Friend Library #209 November, 1912
Nelson Lee in the Navy The Boys' Friend Library #282 November, 1914
The Film Detective The Boys' Friend Library #298 May, 1915
On His Majesty’s Service The Boys' Friend Library #301 June, 1915
Out To Win The Boys' Friend Library #437 November, 1918
Detective-Warder Nelson Lee The Boys' Friend Library #530 November, 1920

Written by Edwy Searles Brooks

Nelson Lee Tales
Title Story Paper Date
The Green Triangle The Boys' Friend Library #649 January, 1923
The Return of Zingrave The Boys' Friend Library #656 February, 1923
The Wonder Craft The Boys' Friend Library #657 March, 1923

The Nelson Lee Library: 1915–1933

Nelson Lee Library 001
Nelson Lee Library #1

Lee featured in his own long-running magazine, The Nelson Lee Library, from 1915 to 1933 which was published in four "series". The first issue of The Nelson Lee Library was published on 12 June 1915, entitled "The Mystery of Limehouse Reach" and written by Sexton Blake writer A. C. Murray. Many other popular Blake writers would pen Lee tales including William Murray Graydon, William J. Bayfield, George Hamilton Teed, Norman Goddard, and Edwy Searles Brooks.

Series 1 ran from 12 June 1915 until 24 April 1926, a total of 568 issues.

Series 2 ran from 1 May 1926 until 18 January 1930, a total of 194 issues.

Series 3 ran from 25 January 1930 until 18 February 1933, a total of 161 issues.

Series 4 ran from 25 February 1933 until 12 August 1933. The Nelson Lee Library then merged with the Gem.

A few issues of note: Maxwell Scott wrote just four adventures for the paper that bore his greatest creation's name, A Miscarriage of Justice (1915), The Convict's Dilemma (1915), In Borrowed Plumes (1915), and When Rogues Fall Out (1916). The Spendthrift was George Hamilton Teed's first Nelson Lee tale. It was followed by Twenty Fathoms Deep Edwy Searles Brooks debut Lee tale. Teed following on the wild success of his Sexton Blake creation Yvonne Cartier, gave Nelson Lee his first female foe: The Black Wolf, a cross-dressing martial arts aristocrat. She would match wits with Lee and Nipper in various locations around the world. Not to be outdone, Brooks introduced Eileen Dare the female detective in Nelson Lee's Lady Assistant (1916). She appeared with Lee in 14 adventures. Brooks was instrumental in launching the second phase of Lee's career. In "Nipper at St. Frank's," (Nelson Lee Library #112, 28 July 1917,) Lee and Nipper while fleeing from a Chinese Triad hide out at St. Frank's, a "venerable public school" in the Bellton area of Sussex. When the case at last was solved, Lee joined the faculty as headmaster and Nipper enrolled as a student. The two remained there for the next sixteen years solving mysteries and having adventures around the world, often with friends and Nipper's classmates.

Series 1: The Pre-St. Frank's Cases

Each issue contained a complete detective story.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Nelson Lee Issue Title Author
Nelson Lee Library #1 The Mystery of Limehouse Reach A. C. Murray
Nelson Lee Library #2 The Case of the Secret Room Mark Darren
Nelson Lee Library #3 The Clue of the Straw Sailor's Hat William Murray Graydon
Nelson Lee Library #4 The Case of the Interned Detective A.C. Murray
Nelson Lee Library #5 The Great Submarine Mystery Unknown
Nelson Lee Library #6 Stolen Property Unknown
Nelson Lee Library #7 A Miscarriage of Justice Maxwell Scott
Nelson Lee Library #8 The Convict's Dilemma Maxwell Scott
Nelson Lee Library #9 Nelson Lee - Cracksman William Murray Graydon
Nelson Lee Library #10 Shadowed by Two Mark Darren
Nelson Lee Library #11 The War Factory Mystery Unknown
Nelson Lee Library #12 British to the Backbone Unknown
Nelson Lee Library #13 In Borrowed Plumes Maxwell Scott
Nelson Lee Library #14 The King's Bad Bargain Unknown
Nelson Lee Library #15 The Spendthrift George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #16 Twenty Fathoms Deep Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #17 The Black Wolf George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #18 The Case of the Duplicate Key George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #19 The Secret of the Swamp George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #20 Not Guilty A. C. Murray
Nelson Lee Library #21 The Terror of Troone Towers Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #22 Edges of Steel George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #23 The League of the Green Triangle Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #24 The Case of the Tube of Radium George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #25 The Specialist's Last Case Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #26 The Crystal Urn George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #27 The Gold Cavern Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #28 The Forged Fingerprints Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #29 The Three Millionaires Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #30 A Mystery of Venice George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #31 The Frozen Man George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #32 The Prison Breakers Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #33 Amazement Island Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #34 Robbery Wholesale George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #35 The Mummy Mystery Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #36 The Mystery Man Of Lhassa George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #37 The House of Fear Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #38 The President's Peril Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #39 The Lightning Clue (Jim the Penman) Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #40 The Red Menace George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #41 The Buried Invention Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #42 The Great Will Forgery Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #43 The Robbery at Ponder's Bank George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #44 The 'Doctored' Racehorse Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #45 The Forged Marriage Lines Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #46 The Last of the Genghis George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #47 The Ship of Doom Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #48 When Rogues Fall Out Maxwell Scott
Nelson Lee Library #49 The Forged War Orders Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #50 The Great Club Raid Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #51 The Mystery of the Moor Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #52 At Half Tide George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #53 Zingrave's Last Card Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #54 The Mystery of the Mail Van Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #55 The Man with Four Identities George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #56 The Case of the Fatal Flight A. S. Hardy
Nelson Lee Library #57 Nelson Lee's Lady Assistant Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #58 The Crimson Disc George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #59 The Ribbon of Light Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #60 The Mystery of the Turret Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #61 The Golden Boomerang George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #62 The Amazing Case of the Lost Explorer Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #63 The Spectre of Scarcroft Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #64 The Plague Ship Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #65 Against The Law Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #66 The Mystery of the 10.20 Express Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #67 The Crook George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #68 The Great Insurance Swindle Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #69 The Mystery of Barron Hall George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #70 The House in the Hollow Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #71 The Clue of the Raincoat George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #72 The Secret of the Martello Tower Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #73 Blue Diamonds George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #74 The Caves of Silence Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #75 The Night Before the Trial Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #76 The Affair of the Nabob's Jewels Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #77 The House of Hazard Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #78 A Christmas of Peril Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #79 The Mystery of the Closed Door George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #80 A Mid-Atlantic Mystery Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #81 The Plantation Mystery George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #82 Harlo the Hypnotist Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #83 The Broken Vase George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #84 Tracked to the Trenches Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #85 The Circle of Terror Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #86 The Great Air Mystery George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #87 Millions at Stake Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #88 The Yellow Mask Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #89 A Stubborn Case George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #90 Monn the Miser Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #91 The Mystery of the Footlights Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #92 The Man Hunters George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #93 The Brass-Bound Box Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #94 The Monk of Montressor Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #95 The Secret of Crooked Reef Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #96 Nipper's Note Book Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #97 The Manor House Mystery Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #98 Fangs of Steel Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #99 The Mystery of the Grey Car Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #100 The Clue of the Twisted Ring Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #101 Behind the Door Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #102 The Secret of Melsey Island Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #103 The Sheriff of Blazing Gulch Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #104 The Hovering Peril Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #105 The Ivory Seekers Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #106 Cast on the Shore Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #107 Loot George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #108 The Kidnapped Stockbroker George Hamilton Teed
Nelson Lee Library #109 The Case of the Crimson Feathers Unknown
Nelson Lee Library #110 The Affair of the Duplicate Door Edwy Searles Brooks
Nelson Lee Library #111 The Yellow Shadow Edwy Searles Brooks

Other Nelson Lee tales in the Nelson Lee Library

Nelson Lee Adventures
Nelson Lee Issue Title
Nelson Lee Library #370 The Ivory Hand Anon
Nelson Lee Library #371 On the Ninth Green Anon
Nelson Lee Library #372 The Tyneside Mystery Anon
Nelson Lee Library #373 The 11:15 pm to South Shields Anon
Nelson Lee Library #374 The Bank Car Puzzle Anon
Nelson Lee Library #375 House of the Clanging Bells, or The Case of the White Lead Substitute Anon
Nelson Lee Library #376 Case of the Racing Tipster Anon
Nelson Lee Library #377 The Hollow Club, or Clue of the Gloved Hand Anon
Nelson Lee Library #378 The Missing Valet Anon
Nelson Lee Library #379-80 The Strange Case of the Thurlingham Hall Robbery Anthony Skene
Features Zenith the Albino
Nelson Lee Library #381 The Case of the Wooden-Legged Sailorman
Nelson Lee Library #382 The Stencil Clue Anon
Nelson Lee Library #383 The Kidnapped Goalie Anon
Nelson Lee Library #384-5 The Mayfair Mystery Anon
Nelson Lee Library #386-7 The Strange Affair at Heather Hall Anon
Nelson Lee Library #388 The Case of the Cardiff Contractor Anon
Nelson Lee Library #389-90 The Flaming God Anon
Nelson Lee Library #391 The Man with the Cut Lip Anon
Nelson Lee Library #404-408 The Black Mask Anon
Nelson Lee Library #410-19 The League of the Iron Hand Maxwell Scott
Nelson Lee Library #420/431 The Silver Dwarf Maxwell Scott
Nelson Lee Library #431-41 The Missing Heir Maxwell Scott
Nelson Lee Library #442-45 Night Owl and the Alliance of 13 Anon
Nelson Lee Library #484-96 Green Triangle and Jim the Penman Anon
Nelson Lee Library #497-502 The Hollowdene Manor Mystery Edwy Searles Brooks
Features Eileen Dare
Nelson Lee Library #503-12 The Invisible Grip Edwy Searles Brooks
Features Zingrave

The Union Jack: 1916-1920

In all these tales, Nelson Lee and Nipper team up with Sexton Blake and Tinker.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Story Paper Issue Title Author Date
The Union Jack #688 In Double Harness Robert Murray Graydon 1916
The Union Jack #768 The Mount-Stonham Murder Mystery Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #771 The Mystic Cypher Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #774 The Dual Detectives Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #777 The Flashlight Clue Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #781 The Case of the American Soldier Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #784 The Crooks of Rapid Hollow Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #786 The Terror of Trevis World Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #788 The Studded Footprints Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #793 The Case of the Hollow Dagger Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #794 Waldo the Wonder-man Edwy Searles Brooks 1918
The Union Jack #796 Hoodwinked or the Diamonds of Zamkala Edwy Searles Brooks 1919
The Union Jack #796 The Clue of the Frozen Knife Edwy Searles Brooks 1919
The Union Jack #801 The Shanghaied Detective Edwy Searles Brooks 1919
The Union Jack #805 The Case of the Stacey Rubies Edwy Searles Brooks 1919
The Union Jack #817 The Great Spiritualism Case Edwy Searles Brooks 1919
The Union Jack #859 The Mystery of the Gnarled Oak Edwy Searles Brooks 1920
The Union Jack #870 The Mystery of the 9:12 Express Edwy Searles Brooks 1920

The Sexton Blake Library: 1915-1921

A short story.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Story Paper Title Author Date
The Sexton Blake Library #5 The Case of the Shrivelled Fingers Unknown 1915

In these two tales, Nelson Lee and Nipper team up with Sexton Blake and Tinker.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Story Paper Title Author Date
The Sexton Blake Library #80 The Bathchair Mystery Andrew Murray 1919
The Sexton Blake Library #190 The Valley of Fear Francis Addington Symonds 1921

The Pluck Library: 1916

The editor introduced the Neslon Lee tale with this announcement: "Following on numerous requests from readers of The Nelson Lee Library for stories of Nelson Lee in other publications, I have pleasure in presenting this week, in Pluck, No. 1 of what I hope will prove the finest series of detective storties ever published featuring Nelson Lee.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Story Paper Title Author Date
The Pluck Library #586 The Case of the German Financier Unknown January 22, 1916

The Detective Library: 1919-1921

The stories were predominantly written by Scott and Edwy Searles Brooks.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Story paper Issue Title Notes
The Detective Library The Mystery of Torgreave Hall 1919 (reprinting of The Jewel Thief)
The Detective Library The Kidnapped Engineer 1919
The Detective Library The Vanishing Picture 1919
The Detective Library The Jaguar's Master 1919
The Detective Library The House with the Crooked Window
The Detective Library The Case of the Horned Frog
The Detective Library Sons of Fire
The Detective Library The Babylonian Brick
The Detective Library The Swinbury Poultry Killing Mystery
The Detective Library The Missing Solicitor of Bedford Row
The Detective Library The Bogus Butler of Harlech
The Detective Library The Case of Dr. Mau-Ling-Su
The Detective Library Jim the Penman series
The Detective Library Brotherhood of the Five Fingers 1920
The Detective Library Nipper at St. Ninian's 1920

The Prairie Library: 1920

The stories were written by George Hamilton Teed.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Story paper Issue Title Notes
The Prairie Library The Black Pearl Serial. January 1920
The Prairie Library #36-40 A Dangerous Partnership Serial. 1919
The Prairie Library #51-55 The Missing Professor Serial. 1920
The Prairie Library The Inner Seven Serial. 1920

The Nuggett Library: 1921

These tales were predominantly written by Andrew Murray. Many of these feature Sexton Blake foes and may be rewrites of Blake tales.

Nelson Lee Adventures
Story paper Issue Title Notes
The Nugget Library #45 White Man's Secret (featuring Kew & Carlac)
The Nugget Library #46 Man in the Copper Casket (featuring John Lawless )
The Nugget Library #47 The Bridge Builders (featuring Trouble Nantucket)
The Nugget Library #48 The Sign of the Red Claw (featuring Chulda Ghan)
The Nugget Library #49 The Amazing Schoolboy (featuring Timothy Tudmr)
The Nugget Library #50 Case of The Two Impostors and Nipper's Wager (featuring Kew & Carlac)
The Nugget Library #51 The Outsiders (featuring Langley Mostyn)
The Nugget Library #52 Rogues of the River (featuring Thames Police)
The Nugget Library #53 Expelled from St. Frank's (featuring Watson & Harrington)
The Nugget Library #54 The Sign of the Shepherd's Crook
The Nugget Library #56 Meshes of Mystery
The Nugget Library #58 The Case of the Heavyweight Champion (featuring John Lawless)
The Nugget Library #62 Lost - A Football Team (featuring Lawless)
The Nugget Library #66 The Case of the Arab Footballer (featuring John Lawless).
The Nugget Library #68 Nelson Lee in India, or The Rajah's Secret
The Nugget Library #70 The Treasury Notes Mystery

Lee's associates

In the early years of his career Lee worked intermittently with the French detective Jean Moreau. Later in the first years of the Nelson Lee Library he worked with 'girl detective' Eileen Dare. He had a bloodhound named Rajah, and later another named Wolf.

Lord Dorrimore or Dorrie, a somewhat eccentric millionaire, was one of the most popular characters to appear in the Nelson Lee Library. He often travelled with Umlosi, a mighty African warrior. The two made their first appearance in The Ivory Seekers and reappeared throughout Lee's tenure at St. Franks.

Lee collaborated with Sexton Blake on a number of occasions. The two worked together on The Winged Terror, penned by Maxwell Scott, a tale that ran in issues #329-336 of Boys' Herald in 1909. Later other authors paired the two in the pages of the Union Jack. In Double Harness, (Union Jack #683) written by Robert Murray Graydon saw the two working against each other to solve a case, while Waldo the Wonder Man, (Union Jack #794,) saw them team up to capture one of Blake's most beloved foes.

Lee's enemies

Nelson Lee had a fine rogues gallery of supervillains. Some of the most famous included:

Jim the Penman (created by Edwy Searles Brooks), was the nickname of Douglas James Sutcliffe, a solicitor turned forger and a master of disguise. One never knew where he was going to turn up next and his skill with the pen was only equalled by his skill at disguise, his audacity and brilliant sang froid, his coolness in emergency and his never-ceasing efforts to pull off some spectacular coup.

Professor Cyrus Zingrave (created by Edwy Searles Brooks), the Monster of Moat Hollow, a Napoleon of Crime.

The Black Wolf (created by George Hamilton Teed) Lee's greatest female opponent.

Dr. Mortimer Crane (created by George Hamilton Teed) a brain and nerve specialist whose talents had been diverted to wrong doing. He was a master of disguise and one of Lee's most sinister and cunning opponents.

He fought criminal organisations like the League of the Green Triangle, the Circle of Terror and the Fu Chang Tong and also matched wits against legendary Sexton Blake foes Zenith the Albino (created by Anthony Skene), Dr. Huxton Rymer (created by George Hamilton Teed), and deadly duo Count Ivor Carlac and Professor Francis Kew created by Andrew Murray.

Howard Baker collections

  • The Barring-Out at St. Frank's! by Edwy Searles Brooks
  • Expelled Incorporating The Secret Societies of St. Frank's & The 'Death' of Walter Church by Edwy Searles Brooks
  • The Haunted School Incorporating the entire Ezra Quirke series by Edwy Searles Brooks

New collections

  • Sexton Blake: The Early Years (2020) features the first 5 Nelson Lee cases by Maxwell Scott, includes Christmas Clues the first Nelson Lee/Sexton Blake co-appearance.
  • Sexton Blake: Friends and Allies (2020) features In Double Harness by Robert Murray Graydon
  • Sexton Blake & Nelson Lee (2021) by Edwy Searles Brooks
  • Sexton Blake: The Claire Delisle Files (2022) features The Valley of Fear by Francis Addington Symonds
  • Nelson Lee: The Black Wolf Files (2020) by George Hamilton Teed
  • Nelson Lee: The Scott Files (2021) by Maxwell Scott. Includes Birds of Prey, The Silver Dwarf, and The Missing Heir.
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