author
Nell Speed
1878–1913
Best remembered for lively girls' fiction, this early 20th-century American writer created the Molly Brown books and other warm, energetic stories for young readers. Her career was cut short, but her school and friendship adventures kept finding new readers for years afterward.
16 Audiobooks
At Boarding School with the Tucker Twins
by Nell Speed
The Carter Girls
by Nell Speed
Back at School with the Tucker Twins
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown's Orchard Home
by Nell Speed
Vacation with the Tucker Twins
by Nell Speed
Tripping with the Tucker Twins
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown's Freshman Days
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown's Post-Graduate Days
by Nell Speed
A House Party with the Tucker Twins
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown of Kentucky
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown's Junior Days
by Nell Speed
The Carter Girls' Mysterious Neighbors
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown's Sophomore Days
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown's Senior Days
by Nell Speed
Molly Brown's College Friends
by Nell Speed
The Carter Girls' Week-End Camp
by Nell Speed
About the author
Born in 1878 and dying in 1913, she wrote juvenile fiction, including the Molly Brown books and stories centered on the Tucker Twins. Project Gutenberg and The Online Books Page both list a substantial body of work under her name, showing how widely her books circulated and how many have remained available in the public domain.
A commonly repeated detail, supported by biographical notes on Emma Speed Sampson, is that her sister continued parts of the series after her death and kept publishing under the name Nell Speed. That helps explain why some books associated with the name appeared after 1913.
Her fiction is remembered for brisk plots, school life, friendship, and the everyday independence of young women. Even with few personal details easily confirmed online, the books themselves make her place clear: she was one of the many popular writers who helped shape girls' series fiction in the early 1900s.