---
type: Person
title: Colonel Forster
description: Colonel of the ----shire militia at Meryton and Brighton, whose wife
  invites Lydia Bennet to Brighton and who leads the search after her elopement.
resource: raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt
tags:
- militia
- brighton
- meryton
timestamp: '2026-07-16T17:56:51Z'
citadel_version: 0.3.0
---

Colonel Forster commands the ----shire militia regiment when it decamps from
[Meryton](../misc/meryton.md) to [Brighton](../misc/brighton.md) for the summer.[^s1] His wife,
newly married and close in age to [Lydia Bennet](../persons/lydia-bennet.md), invites Lydia to
accompany her to Brighton; [Mr. Bennet](../persons/mr-bennet.md) trusts Colonel Forster, "a
sensible man," to "keep her out of any real mischief."[^s2]

When Lydia elopes with [George Wickham](../persons/george-wickham.md), Colonel Forster sends an
express to Longbourn the same night and, on learning from fellow officer Denny that Wickham may
never have intended to go to Scotland or to marry Lydia at all, sets off himself to trace the
couple's route, following them as far as Clapham before losing the trail.[^s3] He travels on to
Longbourn in person to break the news, "in a manner most creditable to his heart," and admits to
Elizabeth that he had "often suspected some partiality" on Lydia's side, though nothing that alarmed
him at the time.[^s4] He later confirms that Wickham left considerable gaming debts in Brighton —
by his estimate, over a thousand pounds — besides debts to Meryton tradesmen, and privately doubts
Wickham can be trusted to marry Lydia at all.[^s5]

## See also

- [Lydia Bennet](../persons/lydia-bennet.md)
- [George Wickham](../persons/george-wickham.md)
- [Brighton](../misc/brighton.md)
- [Meryton](../misc/meryton.md)
- [Mr. Bennet](../persons/mr-bennet.md)

## Sources

[^s1]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), line 8500 — the ----shire militia's move to Brighton (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s2]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 8885-8891; 8958-8959 — Mrs. Forster's invitation and Mr. Bennet's trust in Colonel Forster (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s3]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 10266-10267; 10299-10306 — Colonel Forster's express and pursuit to Clapham (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s4]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 10313; 10843-10844 — Colonel Forster's manner in breaking the news and his admission to Elizabeth (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s5]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 10323; 11133-11138 — Colonel Forster's doubts and his account of Wickham's gaming debts (ingested 2026-07-16)
