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Nelson Lee is a fictional detective who featured in the Amalgamated Press papers over a 40-year run.[1] [2] 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[3] In 1915 he was given his own story-paper series, The Nelson Lee Library, which ran until 1933.

For the Taiwanese-Canadian actor, see Nelson Lee.

Nelson Lee
First appearanceA Dead Man’s Secret (19 September 1894)
Created byDr. John William Staniforth (as Maxwell Scott)
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationDetective
NationalityBritish

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.[3][1]


Publication history



The 1890s: The solo years


Nelson Lee's Debut: A Dead Man’s Secret
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.[2] 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...

The Jewel Thief
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.[4] Tales from this era include:

  1. A Dead Man’s Secret
  2. Nelson Lee Detective
  3. The Adventures of Nelson Lee
  4. The Mystery of the Malton Moors
  5. The Jewel Thief
  6. A False Scent
  7. The Thief of the Black Ruby
  8. Christmas Clues
  9. Nelson Lee Detective
  10. A Threefold Mystery
  11. No Clue
  12. Vengeance
  13. Saved from Siberia
  14. The Missing Admiral
  15. The Mystery of the old Churchyard
  16. A Christmas Mystery
  17. The Black Brotherhood
  18. The Theft of the Aztec Opal
  19. Sons of Fire
  20. One False Step
  21. Captain Twilight
  22. The Way of Transgressors
  23. A Triple Tragedy
  24. The Stolen Despatches
  25. A Christmas Tragedy

The 1900s: The great serials


The Silver Dwarf
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.[5] 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.[6]


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


Nelson Lee's 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.[5] This retelling of their encounter ran from issues #2-26 in Boys' Herald and was subsequntly 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."[3]

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


The Boys' Friend Library


Written by Maxwell Scott

Written by Edwy Searles Brooks


The Nelson Lee Library: 1915–1933


Nelson Lee Library #1
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.[7] Not to be outdone, Brooks introduced Eileen Dare the female detective in Nelson Lee's Lady Assistant (1916).[8] 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 advanetures around the world, often with friends and Nipper's classmates.[3]

Series 1: The Pre-Friardale Cases

Each issue contained a complete detective story.

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

Other Nelson Lee tales in the Nelson Lee Library


The Union Jack: 1916-1920


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

These tales were written by Edwy Searles Brooks


The Sexton Blake Library: 1919-1921


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


The Detective Library: 1919-1921


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


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.


Lee's associates


In the early years of his career Lee worked intermittently with the French detective Jean Moreau.[2] 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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[9] 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.[9]


Howard Baker collections



New collections



References


  1. Nevins, Jess (2005). Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana. UNKNO.
  2. Turner, E.S. (1976). Boys Will Be Boys, Chapter 9. Penguin.
  3. Andrew, Lucy (2017). The Boy Detective in Early British Children's Literature, Chapter 4. Springer.
  4. Wood, Jack (1954). "A Dead Man's Secret: Nelson Lee in Fact and Fiction". Collectors Digest Christmas Annual #008. pp. 42–43.
  5. Wood, Jack (1954). "A Dead Man's Secret: Nelson Lee in Fact and Fiction". Collectors Digest Christmas Annual #008. pp. 34–35.
  6. Maidment, Stanley (March 1947). "Maxwell Scott: Originator of Nelson Lee Detective". Collectors Digest Vol1 #003. p. 61.
  7. Wood, Jack (1954). "A Dead Man's Secret: Nelson Lee in Fact and Fiction". Collectors Digest Christmas Annual #008. pp. 39–40.
  8. Caldicott, Mark (February 1992). "Nelson Lee Column: Into His Stride". Collectors Digest Vol46 #542. p. 6.
  9. Wood, Jack (1954). "A Dead Man's Secret: Nelson Lee in Fact and Fiction". Collectors Digest Christmas Annual #008. pp. 29–45.
  10. Wood, Jack (1954). "A Dead Man's Secret: Nelson Lee in Fact and Fiction". Collectors Digest Christmas Annual #008. pp. 41–42.

Further reading






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