Jack Caldwell

Jack Caldwell, born and raised the bayous of Louisiana, is an author, amateur historian, professional economic developer, playwright, and like many Cajuns, a darn good cook. His nickname — The Cajun Cheesehead — came from his devotion to his two favorite NFL teams: the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers. (Every now and then, Jack has to play the DVD again to make sure the Saints really won in 2010.)

Always a history buff, Jack found and fell in love with Jane Austen in his twenties, struck by her innate understanding of the human condition. Jack uses his work to share his knowledge of history. Through his characters, he hopes the reader gains a better understanding of what went on before, developing an appreciation for our ancestors’ trials and tribulations.

When not writing or traveling with his wife, Barbara, Jack attempts to play golf. A devout convert to Roman Catholicism, Jack is married with three grown sons.

Learn more about Jack and his numerous Austen fiction writings at Ramblings of a Cajun in Exile.  Follow Jack on Facebook and on Twitter @JCaldwell25

~ Below is a sample of Jack’s Novels ~

 JANE AUSTEN’S FIGHTING MEN SERIES:

The Three Colonels – Jane Austen’s Fighting Men

Love reigns supreme for Colonels Buford, Fitzwilliam, and Brandon as our brave fighting men are enjoying their courtships and early married lives with three beloved Austen heroines. The couples lead tranquil lives — until Napoleon escapes from exile.

As the colonels set out to meet their destiny on the fields of Waterloo, Anne, Caroline, and Marianne defend their hearts against the fear of losing their loved ones forever.

From the serenity of Regency England to the scandal and intrigue of the Congress of Vienna, three gentlemen live, love, fight, and defend their country from Napoleon’s voracious ambition. BOOK ONE.

Available in print and ebook.

The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel

The worlds of Jane Austen and the Baroness Orczy combine in a swashbuckling tale. Captain Frederick Tilney, dashing cavalry officer and rakish heir to Northanger Abbey, is interested only in fencing and carousing. That is, until he meets the girl of his dreams, the lovely and intriguing Violet Blakeney. However, her father is not convinced of Frederick’s pledge to reform and the officer is banished from Violet’s presence. The baronet has a will of iron, for he is none other than Sir Percy Blakeney—the retired Scarlet Pimpernel!

Now, during the Hundred Days Crisis, an evil from the Pimpernel’s past menaces the Blakeney family while Sir Percy is crippled by age. Frederick must convince the baronet to accept his assistance in accomplishing the impossible—take on an entire country to recuse the girl they both love. BOOK TWO.

Available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

Persuaded to Sail

The long-awaited sequel to Jane Austen’s final novel, Persuasion—

After an eight-year separation and a tumultuous reunion, Anne Elliot marries the dashing Captain Frederick Wentworth. The pair looks forward to an uneventful honeymoon cruise aboard the HMS Laconia.

But the bride and groom find the seas of matrimony rough. Napoleon has escaped from Elba, the country is at war with France again, and the Admiralty imposes on Wentworth a mysterious passenger on a dangerous secret mission. The good captain is caught between duty to his country and love for his wife.

All eyes are trained for enemies without, but the greatest menace may already be on board… BOOK THREE.

Available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

Brother of the Bride –
A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice and The Three Colonels

In 1816, everyone thinks—with the Napoleonic wars over and done—that life in England will be peaceful. Not necessarily.

For four wonderful years, Fitzwilliam Darcy has joyfully lived at his beloved Pemberley with his adored wife, Elizabeth, precious young son, Bennet, and cherished sister, Georgiana, by his side. All this is about to change; Georgiana has fallen in love. In quick succession, the Darcys agree to take in the young and spirited daughter of the widowed Lydia Wickham and then learn that Elizabeth is expecting another child.

Now—with a wedding to plan, a baby on the way, interfering relations invading Pemberley, and a new ward turning the place upside down—the question becomes: How will Mr. Darcy maintain his sanity? BOOK FOUR.

Available in print and ebook.

Rosings Park – A Story of Jane Austen’s Fighting Men

A decade ago, groundbreaking novel THE THREE COLONELS began the epic Jane Austen’s Fighting Men series and transformed Austenesque literature with its blend of Regency romance and historical fiction. ROSINGS PARK is its long-awaited conclusion!

The Napoleonic Wars are finally over, and Britain seeks to rebuild after a generation of war. Gone is the “green and pleasant land” of the early Regency. In its place, a natural disaster on the other side of the world exacerbates the country’s woes: economic depression, widespread hunger, industrialization, and civil unrest. Great Britain faces ruin and revolution.

Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy agree to take in the young and spirited daughter of Lydia Wickham, and all the while, their beloved Pemberley is being endangered by riotous Luddites. Colonel Sir Richard Fitzwilliam marries Anne de Bourgh but finds the management of Rosings Park no easy matter, especially with Lady Catherine de Bourgh ready and eager to offer advice. Haunted by despair and gravely wounded in body and spirit, a bitter Colonel Sir John Buford returns to England to be nursed by his wife, the former Caroline Bingley.

Then, an evil out of the past returns to wreak vengeance on Rosings Park, and the Darcys, Fitzwilliams, Bufords, and their friends face a devastating truth:

HAPPILY EVER AFTER MUST BE EARNED.  BOOK FIVE.

Available in print and ebook.

 CRESCENT CITY SERIES:

The Plains of Chalmette: a Story of Crescent City

It is 1814, and America’s second war against Great Britain is going badly. The enemy is ready for its knock-out punch. They seek to take New Orleans, and by ding so, control the Mississippi River and North America forever. Major Matthew Darcy of Baltimore is dispatched to help defend the beleaguered city, and he discovers an alien place that does not trust its new countrymen. He also find forbidden love with a bewitching Cajun-Creole lady.

Now, with a devastating invader at the city’s doorstep, Darcy joins General Andrew Jackson’s ragtag army of backwoodsmen, Creoles, free coloreds, and buccaneers in the face of overwhelming odds.

Available in print and ebook.

Bourbon Street Nights: Volume One of Crescent City

The year is 1998. This story is about three friends: Elizabeth, a Cajun from the swamps; Emma, an Uptown Jew; and Marianne, a Mississippi girl.

These ladies will have a year that will change their lives. They will meet the men who love them and the men who will break their hearts. It will be a time of love and friendship, trials and tribulations, tragedy and murder.

But it is also about a fourth lady, one that is known by many names. Isle d’Orleans. The Paris of the Americas. Queen City of the South. The City that Care Forgot. Birthplace of Jazz. The Big Easy. Crescent City. New Orleans—what she was, and what she may be again.

Available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

Elysian Dreams: Volume Two of Crescent City

It is 2004. Five years after the scandals of their college days, our heroines have settled down in New Orleans. Some are looking for love, some are searching for reconciliation, and others are trying to save their relationships. Happiness, heartache, and new friends are in the cards.

Meanwhile, threats from the past are still lurking. And a monster appears on the horizon.

With greater maturity come greater challenges, and the three friends learn it takes courage to seize happiness, especially in a place as magical and dangerous as the Crescent City.

Available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

Ruin and Renewal: Volume Three of Crescent City

August 2005. The greatest natural disaster in American history is fast approaching New Orleans. The lives of Elizabeth and William, Marianne and Chris, and Emma and George are turned upside down. Friend, family, stranger, and foe alike will meet their fates as a killer named Katrina tries to drown the Gulf Coast.

From a storm ravaged Gulfport to the miserable Superdome and a desperate Tulane Medical Center, the reader is shown a fuller picture of a story they thought they knew. While First Responders work against time to save the trapped, NOPD captain Richard Fitzwilliam’s quest to apprehend drug-dealer Greg “G-Daddy” Wickham comes to a shocking end.

The survivors must pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Will bureaucratic bumbling by government officials prove too much for the kindness of strangers to overcome? Will those left in the Crescent City ever find normalcy again?

Available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

 OTHER NOVELS:

Mr. Darcy Came to Dinner — a Pride & Prejudice farce

In this humorous re-imagining of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s pet cat causes an unfortunate accident to befall the haughty Mr. Darcy, forcing the injured gentleman to reluctantly take up residence at Longbourn — more specifically, in the parlor of Longbourn! In pain, forbidden to leave by his doctors, Mr. Darcy cannot escape the ridiculous antics of the Bennet clan. And when Georgiana Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh arrive to visit the invalid, chaos, confusion and hilarity ensue!

Inspired by the classics of comedy, author Jack Caldwell transforms Austen’s beloved novel into a tour de force of farce. The Regency will never be the same!

Available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

The Companion of His Future Life

One of the great “what-ifs” among Pride & Prejudice aficionados is: if Mr. Collins married Mary Bennet instead of Charlotte Lucas, how would that influence Mr. Darcy’s dogged pursuit of the elusive Elizabeth?

In this breezy and hilarious re-telling of Jane Austen’s classic novel, the author explores what would have changed — and what would have not — had two of literature’s most self-righteous characters found their way together. Jane goes with Elizabeth to Kent, and the fur flies! A wonderful, mad-cap romp!

Available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

~ For More of Jack’s Works, Please Go To His Website ~

Ramblings of a Cajun in Exile