Nelson Lee (detective) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nelson Lee
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 made-up detective character. He appeared in many British magazines and comics for over 40 years! He was created in 1894 by a writer named Maxwell Scott. This was a pen name for Dr. John Staniforth (1863-1927).

Nelson Lee's stories were published in magazines like The Halfpenny Marvel, Pluck, The Boys' Friend, Boy’s Realm, The Boys' Herald, and Union Jack. In 1915, he even got his very own magazine series, The Nelson Lee Library, which ran until 1933.

Nelson Lee starred in over 2,500 stories! These tales took him all over the world. This makes him one of the most published fictional detectives ever.

Nelson Lee's Story History

The Early Years: 1890s Solo Adventures

Nelson Lee's first story: A Dead Man’s Secret

Nelson Lee first appeared in a story called A Dead Man’s Secret. It was in The Halfpenny Marvel magazine, issue #46, on September 19, 1894. Readers met him in 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

Lee quickly became popular. His second story, Nelson Lee, Detective, came out just six issues later. He also appeared in The Adventures of Nelson Lee in Union Jack Library #35 in December 1894. His last story in The Halfpenny Marvel was The Jewel Thief in issue #74.

From May 1895, he started appearing in Pluck magazine, with 18 stories over three years. That summer, he was also in The Mystery of the Malton Moors in Comic Home Journal. In the 1895 Christmas Pluck, he even teamed up with other detectives, Sexton Blake and Gideon Barr. This story, Christmas Clues, showed Lee and Blake were friends. They would work together many times over the next 40 years. During this time, Lee mostly worked alone from his office in Gray’s Inn Road.

Here are some of his solo adventures:

The 1900s: Long Story Series

The Silver Dwarf

Around the late 1800s, Staniforth (Maxwell Scott) started writing for other magazines. This began the era of long Nelson Lee stories, called "serials." Birds of Prey was a 20-part serial in The Boys' Friend from July to December 1901. It was followed by The Silver Dwarf (1901-1902) and The Missing Heir (1902). Staniforth said these were his favorite Nelson Lee tales.

Here are some popular Nelson Lee serials from this time:

The Boy-Detective: A New Kind of Story

Nelson Lee's Pupil

In 1903, Nelson Lee's life changed forever! In the story Nelson Lee's Pupil, he got an assistant: Richard Hamilton, also known as "Nipper." Nipper was a street kid who first appeared in A Dead Man’s Secret ten years earlier. This new story about how they met ran in Boys' Herald issues #2-26. It was later reprinted in The Boys' Friend Library in 1907. Nelson Lee and Nipper became a team and stayed together for the next 30 years.

Following Nelson Lee's example, Sexton Blake also got a boy assistant, Tinker, in 1904. Tinker and Nipper were very important. They helped create a new type of story in British magazines: the "boy-detective." These stories often featured "street kids who were very smart, rescued from poverty by a famous London detective."

Here are some of Nipper's important cases:

The Boys' Friend Library

Many of Maxwell Scott's long Nelson Lee stories were shortened and reprinted as full stories in The Boys' Friend Library.

Here are some Nelson Lee adventures written by Maxwell Scott:

And some written by Edwy Searles Brooks:

The Nelson Lee Library: 1915–1933

The Nelson Lee Library #1

Nelson Lee got his own popular magazine, The Nelson Lee Library, which ran from 1915 to 1933. It was published in four different "series." The first issue came out on June 12, 1915. It was called "The Mystery of Limehouse Reach" and was written by A. C. Murray. Many other writers who wrote for Sexton Blake also wrote Nelson Lee stories. These included William Murray Graydon, William J. Bayfield, George Hamilton Teed, Norman Goddard, and Edwy Searles Brooks.

• Series 1 ran from June 12, 1915, to April 24, 1926 (568 issues).
• Series 2 ran from May 1, 1926, to January 18, 1930 (194 issues).
• Series 3 ran from January 25, 1930, to February 18, 1933 (161 issues).
• Series 4 ran from February 25, 1933, to August 12, 1933. After this, The Nelson Lee Library joined with another magazine called The Gem.

Maxwell Scott, who created Nelson Lee, only wrote four adventures for this magazine: A Miscarriage of Justice (1915), The Convict's Dilemma (1915), In Borrowed Plumes (1915), and When Rogues Fall Out (1916).

George Hamilton Teed introduced Nelson Lee's first female enemy, The Black Wolf. She was a master of martial arts and disguise. She often battled Lee and Nipper around the world. Not to be outdone, Edwy Searles Brooks introduced Eileen Dare, a female detective, in Nelson Lee's Lady Assistant (1916). She appeared with Lee in 14 adventures.

Brooks also started a new phase for Lee's career. In "Nipper at St. Frank's" (Nelson Lee Library #112, July 28, 1917), Lee and Nipper hide at St. Frank's, a school, while running from a Chinese gang. After solving the case, Lee became the headmaster, and Nipper enrolled as a student. They stayed there for 16 years, solving mysteries and having adventures with friends and classmates.

Series 1: Cases Before St. Frank's Each issue had a complete detective story.

The Union Jack: 1916-1920

In these stories, Nelson Lee and Nipper often teamed up with Sexton Blake and his assistant, Tinker.

The Sexton Blake Library: 1915-1921

These were short stories.

In these two stories, Nelson Lee and Nipper teamed up with Sexton Blake and Tinker.

The Detective Library: 1919-1921

Most of these stories were written by Scott and Edwy Searles Brooks.

The Nuggett Library: 1921

These stories were mostly written by Andrew Murray. Many featured enemies from Sexton Blake's stories.

Nelson Lee's Friends and Allies

In his early years, Lee sometimes worked with a French detective named Jean Moreau. Later, in The Nelson Lee Library, he worked with a 'girl detective' named Eileen Dare. He also had a bloodhound dog named Rajah, and later another one named Wolf.

Lord Dorrimore, also known as Dorrie, was a rich but quirky millionaire. He was a very popular character in The Nelson Lee Library. He often traveled with Umlosi, a strong African warrior. They first appeared in The Ivory Seekers and showed up many times during Lee's time at St. Frank's school.

Lee also teamed up with Sexton Blake several times. They worked together in The Winged Terror (1909). Later, other writers paired them in Union Jack magazine. In In Double Harness, they even worked against each other to solve a case! In Waldo the Wonder Man, they joined forces to catch one of Blake's famous enemies.

Nelson Lee's Enemies

Nelson Lee faced many clever villains. Some of the most famous included:

• Jim the Penman (created by Edwy Searles Brooks): His real name was Douglas James Sutcliffe. He was a lawyer who became a master forger and disguise artist. He was known for his boldness and calm under pressure.
• Professor Cyrus Zingrave (created by Edwy Searles Brooks): Known as the Monster of Moat Hollow, he was a very powerful criminal mastermind.
• The Black Wolf (created by George Hamilton Teed): She was Lee's most challenging female opponent. She was skilled in martial arts and used disguises.
• Dr. Mortimer Crane (created by George Hamilton Teed): He was a brain and nerve specialist who used his skills for bad deeds. He was also a master of disguise and a very cunning enemy.

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

New Collections of Stories

• Sexton Blake: The Early Years (2020): This book includes the first 5 Nelson Lee cases by Maxwell Scott. It also has Christmas Clues, which was the first time Nelson Lee and Sexton Blake appeared together.
• Nelson Lee: The Black Wolf Files (2020) by George Hamilton Teed.
• Nelson Lee: The Scott Files (2021) by Maxwell Scott. This collection includes Birds of Prey, The Silver Dwarf, and The Missing Heir.