August 04, 2004
 Judith Ivory always writes such sensual literature, and The Indiscretion is no different. Set at the turn of the century (1899), a Texas cowboy named Sam Cody finds himself stranded on a misty English moor with a Viscount's daughter, Lady Lydia Bedford-Browne. Telling his beautiful female companion that he's a hired gun, they spend several days camping in the mushy wilderness and over the same period, fall in love. But their stations in life are too different, and when they are finally rescued by an amusing pair of undergarments, they are parted. However when they get back to civilization, Lydia finds that Sam is not quite what he seemed, when he shows up as a guest at her father's estate.
Ivory tells a downright charming tale here, in a setting most regencies devote a paragraph to whilst driving carriages through - the English moor. Sam Cody is masculine and dashing, but not overbearing and arrogant - he allows Lydia to make assumptions of his character and doesn't boast about his wealth, upbringing, or position within the American government. Lydia is a young woman struggling under the pressure of her birth, duty and honor, in a time where the United States has become a superpower, and the English are struggling to keep up with the times. The historical detail of this novel is well researched - from the canal schemes of the times to the Ladies Archery leagues that many English ladies were a part of during the time period.
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