The Three Colonels is a sequel to the Jane Austen novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. I use Austen’s characters from these and her other novels in the body of this story.
Austen aficionados differ in opinion as to exactly when during the Georgian/Regency period the novels take place. For matters of continuity, I chose to date the action in the original novels based on the year of publication, rather than the years Austen originally wrote them (1795–1796). I feel justified in this, since Austen substantially edited both Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility in the years prior to publication.
Therefore, I have dated Pride and Prejudice (published 1813) between 1811 and 1812, while Sense and Sensibility (1811) is set in 1810.
By making this choice, I believe I have opened the wonderful Jane Austen universe to great possibilities. I hope you enjoy the results.
—Jack Caldwell
Faribault, Minnesota, July 2011