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, Boys' 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
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...
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 Harry Blyth's 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:Wood, J. "A Dead Man's Secret or Nelson Lee in Fact and Fiction" Collectors' Digest Christmas Annual 1954, p 42-44 http://www.friardale.co.uk/Collectors%20Digest/1954-Xmas-CollectorsDigest-ChristmasAnnual-08.pdf
+ Nelson Lee's Solo Adventures Title Story Paper Date A Dead Man's Secret The Halfpenny Marvel #46 19 September 1894. Nelson Lee Detective The Halfpenny Marvel #52 30 October 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, 20 December 1894 The Jewel Thief The Halfpenny Marvel #74 2 April 1895 A False Scent Pluck #24 4 May 1895 The Thief of the Black Ruby Pluck #52 16 November 1895 The Mystery of the Malton Moors Comic Home Journal 1895 Christmas Clues Pluck #56 7 December 1895 Nelson Lee Detective Pluck #71 27 March 1896 A Threefold Mystery Pluck #108 12 December 1896 No Clue Pluck #110 26 December 1896 Vengeance Pluck #114 22 January 1897 Saved from Siberia Pluck # 118 19 February 1897 The Missing Admiral Pluck #137 2 July 1897 The Mystery of the old Churchyard Pluck #142 6 August 1897 A Christmas Mystery Pluck #158 26 November 1897 The Black Brotherhood Pluck #160 10 December 1897 The Theft of the Aztec Opal Pluck #161 17 December 1897 Sons of Fire Pluck #174 18 March 1898 One False Step Pluck #178 15 April 1898 Captain Twilight Pluck #186 10 June 1898 The Way of Transgressors Pluck #204 14 October 1898 A Triple Tragedy Pluck #204 25 November 1898 The Stolen Despatches Pluck #210 9 December 1898 A Christmas Tragedy The Boys' Friend #308 22 December 1900 The Fatal Fingerprints The Boys' Friend #319 February 1901
The 1900s: The Great Serials
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 27 July – 7 December 1901. It was followed by The Silver Dwarf (7 Dec 1901 to 15 March 1902) and The Missing Heir (29 March – 9 August 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 UnknownBoys' 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 LeeBoys' Friend #237-257 1905–1906 The Soldier Detective The Jester and Wonder #233-253 1906 The Captain of St. Ninian'sBoys' 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 BowlerBoys' 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 KingBoys' 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 Serviceor The Master Spy Boys' Friend #698-712 1914–1915
The boy-detective: The creation of a new sub-genre
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'sBoys' 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
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.