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Doing No Harm
After a celebrated career in the war against Napoleon, Captain Douglas Bowden moves to a small fishing village to escape military life and put his medical skills to good use. Little does he know, it's his heart that needs the most loving care.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 10, 2015
115 people are currently reading
475 people want to read
About the author
Carla Kelly
138 books802 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Although Carla Kelly is well known among her readers as a writer of Regency romance, her main interest (and first writing success) is Western American fiction—more specifically, writing about America's Indian Wars. Although she had sold some of her work before, it was not until Carla began work in the National Park Service as a ranger/historian at Fort Laramie National Historic Site did she get serious about her writing career. (Or as she would be the first to admit, as serious as it gets.)
Carla wrote a series of what she now refers to as the "Fort Laramie stories," which are tales of the men, women and children of the Indian Wars era in Western history. Two of her stories, A Season for Heroes and Kathleen Flaherty's Long Winter, earned her Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. She was the second woman to earn two Spurs from WWA (which, as everyone knows, is all you need to ride a horse). Her entire Indian Wars collection was published in 2003 as Here's to the Ladies: Stories of the Frontier Army. It remains her favorite work.
The mother of five children, Carla has always allowed her kids to earn their keep by appearing in her Regencies, most notably Marian's Christmas Wish, which is peopled by all kinds of relatives. Grown now, the Kelly kids are scattered here and there across the U.S. They continue to provide feedback, furnish fodder for stories and make frantic phone calls home during the holidays for recipes. (Carla Kelly is some cook.)
Carla's husband, Martin, is Director of Theatre at Valley City State University, in Valley City, North Dakota. Carla is currently overworked as a staff writer at the local daily newspaper. She also writes a weekly, award-winning column, "Prairie Lite."
Carla only started writing Regencies because of her interest in the Napoleonic Wars, which figures in many of her Regency novels and short stories. She specializes in writing about warfare at sea, and about the ordinary people of the British Isles who were, let's face it, far more numerous than lords and ladies.
Hobbies? She likes to crochet afghans, and read British crime fiction and history, principally military history. She's never happier than talking about the fur trade or Indian Wars with Park Service cronies. Her most recent gig with the National Park Service was at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on the Montana/North Dakota border.
Here's another side to this somewhat prosaic woman: She recently edited the fur trade journal of Swiss artist Rudolf F. Kurz (the 1851-1852 portion), and is gratified now and then to be asked to speak on scholarly subjects. She has also worked for the State Historical Society of North Dakota as a contract researcher. This has taken her to glamorous drudgery in several national archives and military history repositories. Gray archives boxes and old documents make her salivate.
Her mantra for writing comes from the subject of her thesis, Robert Utley, that dean of Indian Wars history. He told her the secret to writing is "to put your ass in the chair and keep it there until you're done." He's right, of course.
Her three favorite fictional works have remained constant through the years, although their rankings tend to shift: War and Peace, The Lawrenceville Stories, and A Town Like Alice. Favorite historical works are One Vast Winter Count, On the Border with Mackenzie and Crossing the Line. Favorite crime fiction authors are Michael Connelly, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
And that's all she can think of that would interest anyone. Carla Kelly is quite ordinary, except when she is sometimes prevailed upon to sing a scurrilous song about lumberjacks, or warble "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in Latin. Then you m
Although Carla Kelly is well known among her readers as a writer of Regency romance, her main interest (and first writing success) is Western American fiction—more specifically, writing about America's Indian Wars. Although she had sold some of her work before, it was not until Carla began work in the National Park Service as a ranger/historian at Fort Laramie National Historic Site did she get serious about her writing career. (Or as she would be the first to admit, as serious as it gets.)
Carla wrote a series of what she now refers to as the "Fort Laramie stories," which are tales of the men, women and children of the Indian Wars era in Western history. Two of her stories, A Season for Heroes and Kathleen Flaherty's Long Winter, earned her Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. She was the second woman to earn two Spurs from WWA (which, as everyone knows, is all you need to ride a horse). Her entire Indian Wars collection was published in 2003 as Here's to the Ladies: Stories of the Frontier Army. It remains her favorite work.
The mother of five children, Carla has always allowed her kids to earn their keep by appearing in her Regencies, most notably Marian's Christmas Wish, which is peopled by all kinds of relatives. Grown now, the Kelly kids are scattered here and there across the U.S. They continue to provide feedback, furnish fodder for stories and make frantic phone calls home during the holidays for recipes. (Carla Kelly is some cook.)
Carla's husband, Martin, is Director of Theatre at Valley City State University, in Valley City, North Dakota. Carla is currently overworked as a staff writer at the local daily newspaper. She also writes a weekly, award-winning column, "Prairie Lite."
Carla only started writing Regencies because of her interest in the Napoleonic Wars, which figures in many of her Regency novels and short stories. She specializes in writing about warfare at sea, and about the ordinary people of the British Isles who were, let's face it, far more numerous than lords and ladies.
Hobbies? She likes to crochet afghans, and read British crime fiction and history, principally military history. She's never happier than talking about the fur trade or Indian Wars with Park Service cronies. Her most recent gig with the National Park Service was at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on the Montana/North Dakota border.
Here's another side to this somewhat prosaic woman: She recently edited the fur trade journal of Swiss artist Rudolf F. Kurz (the 1851-1852 portion), and is gratified now and then to be asked to speak on scholarly subjects. She has also worked for the State Historical Society of North Dakota as a contract researcher. This has taken her to glamorous drudgery in several national archives and military history repositories. Gray archives boxes and old documents make her salivate.
Her mantra for writing comes from the subject of her thesis, Robert Utley, that dean of Indian Wars history. He told her the secret to writing is "to put your ass in the chair and keep it there until you're done." He's right, of course.
Her three favorite fictional works have remained constant through the years, although their rankings tend to shift: War and Peace, The Lawrenceville Stories, and A Town Like Alice. Favorite historical works are One Vast Winter Count, On the Border with Mackenzie and Crossing the Line. Favorite crime fiction authors are Michael Connelly, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
And that's all she can think of that would interest anyone. Carla Kelly is quite ordinary, except when she is sometimes prevailed upon to sing a scurrilous song about lumberjacks, or warble "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in Latin. Then you m
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
August 23, 2016
My overwhelming feeling on finishing this was one of emotional exhaustion. This is a difficult book. I don't mean it is complex or particularly challenging from an intellectual point of view; it's simply dealing with bloody difficult issues.
I've been here before with CK. There's an awful lot of tragedy hanging over many of her books, but it's usually deftly dealt with, balanced with the romance and a lightness of touch in the story and the language. I think this book, however, goes too far the other way.
We have Douglas, a naval surgeon who leaves at the end of the war, haunted by all the men he couldn't save. On the journey to trying to find a quiet rural practice, he finds himself in Edgar, a place with as much horror as a naval surgeon's hospital but for different reasons. All the work has gone and the Highlanders thrown from their farmlands in horrid and violent circumstances are living in the town with no money, no work and no food. In the midst of all that is Olive, the deceased vicar's daughter, using her inheritance trying to feed everyone and wondering what will become of her once prosperous village.
Together Douglas and Olive rescue the village and fall in love. But by God, it's a tough journey. I'm not a particularly weepy person but I wept for the last 40% or so of this book. The revelation of the true horrors, particularly of the Highland clearances basically did me in and there's a particular death that got me, as well. Watering pot, as an historical romance writer might say.
It's a fine book, well written and would ordinarily be four stars all day. But, as I say, the balance between the elements wasn't there. More romance, less darkness needed.
I've been here before with CK. There's an awful lot of tragedy hanging over many of her books, but it's usually deftly dealt with, balanced with the romance and a lightness of touch in the story and the language. I think this book, however, goes too far the other way.
We have Douglas, a naval surgeon who leaves at the end of the war, haunted by all the men he couldn't save. On the journey to trying to find a quiet rural practice, he finds himself in Edgar, a place with as much horror as a naval surgeon's hospital but for different reasons. All the work has gone and the Highlanders thrown from their farmlands in horrid and violent circumstances are living in the town with no money, no work and no food. In the midst of all that is Olive, the deceased vicar's daughter, using her inheritance trying to feed everyone and wondering what will become of her once prosperous village.
Together Douglas and Olive rescue the village and fall in love. But by God, it's a tough journey. I'm not a particularly weepy person but I wept for the last 40% or so of this book. The revelation of the true horrors, particularly of the Highland clearances basically did me in and there's a particular death that got me, as well. Watering pot, as an historical romance writer might say.
It's a fine book, well written and would ordinarily be four stars all day. But, as I say, the balance between the elements wasn't there. More romance, less darkness needed.
December 2, 2015
4.5 star
At a time when I can barely bring myself to pick up a historical romance because I know exactly what I will get, along comes the wonderful Carla Kelly to remind me why I continue to read this genre. Her stories of very common, yet incredibly decent, characters never fail to restore my faith in both the power of love, and the strength of the human heart. All of the elements of a Kelly treasure are found in this book. A world weary hero, looking to find just a bit of peace. A lovely, strong heroine, doing her best against tough circumstances. A community that has both the best and worst of humanity. The way that the love story is played out against the struggle of the larger community just adds so much depth to this book. I found the plight of the highlanders who suffered through the horrors of the Clearance to be remarkably moving.
Just when I think I cannot face one more playboy duke or impertinent young heiress, I am thrilled to find a story full of history, heart and hope. There are very few historical romance authors who continue to be auto buys for me, but Ms. Kelly is definitely high on the list. I can't recommend this book strongly enough.
At a time when I can barely bring myself to pick up a historical romance because I know exactly what I will get, along comes the wonderful Carla Kelly to remind me why I continue to read this genre. Her stories of very common, yet incredibly decent, characters never fail to restore my faith in both the power of love, and the strength of the human heart. All of the elements of a Kelly treasure are found in this book. A world weary hero, looking to find just a bit of peace. A lovely, strong heroine, doing her best against tough circumstances. A community that has both the best and worst of humanity. The way that the love story is played out against the struggle of the larger community just adds so much depth to this book. I found the plight of the highlanders who suffered through the horrors of the Clearance to be remarkably moving.
Just when I think I cannot face one more playboy duke or impertinent young heiress, I am thrilled to find a story full of history, heart and hope. There are very few historical romance authors who continue to be auto buys for me, but Ms. Kelly is definitely high on the list. I can't recommend this book strongly enough.
November 30, 2015
1.5 rounded up.
This story had quite some potential, unfortunately it never lived up to it.
For one thing, things resolved too perfectly, like a line of domino pieces neatly falling over. It was so mechanical and so least resistance, everyone behaved so perfectly and so flawlessly, that it felt like Disney World Scotfairyland.
The PTSD, be it of the good old doctor, or the children, was textbook and was resolved textbookstyle. The kids acted like octagenarians, hell, the only 37-years-old doctor acted like a hundred, and all people were so bloody decent, they out-decented the rest of the world, even though initially they were painted to having been mean. Everyone came around, everyone was benevolent, everbody fell over themselves to help, at times the story was so saccharine it dripped sugar and honey. People don't change like that.
The poor doctor, though initially interesting and having some backbone, quickly was painted into such a wimp, that I had a hard time understanding Olive's attraction.
Then, instead of some genuine obstacle or problem, tears are milked via two deaths and mourning children, an else practical woman turns into one highly unlikely and overstrung, and this was topped off by a couple behaving as if propriety rules didn't exist, even for the middleclass, and a romance that was not even lukewarm.
I'm afraid I was even less convinced by this book, than by the other one I read by Kelly.
This story had quite some potential, unfortunately it never lived up to it.
For one thing, things resolved too perfectly, like a line of domino pieces neatly falling over. It was so mechanical and so least resistance, everyone behaved so perfectly and so flawlessly, that it felt like Disney World Scotfairyland.
The PTSD, be it of the good old doctor, or the children, was textbook and was resolved textbookstyle. The kids acted like octagenarians, hell, the only 37-years-old doctor acted like a hundred, and all people were so bloody decent, they out-decented the rest of the world, even though initially they were painted to having been mean. Everyone came around, everyone was benevolent, everbody fell over themselves to help, at times the story was so saccharine it dripped sugar and honey. People don't change like that.
The poor doctor, though initially interesting and having some backbone, quickly was painted into such a wimp, that I had a hard time understanding Olive's attraction.
Then, instead of some genuine obstacle or problem, tears are milked via two deaths and mourning children, an else practical woman turns into one highly unlikely and overstrung, and this was topped off by a couple behaving as if propriety rules didn't exist, even for the middleclass, and a romance that was not even lukewarm.
I'm afraid I was even less convinced by this book, than by the other one I read by Kelly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2017
4.5/5.0
Beautifully but quietly written. This isn't a book filled with edge of your seat suspense or nail-biting sexual tension. It is merely a sweet, exquisitely told story of a retired Navy Dr. looking for a quiet place to practice but finding a down-on-your-luck Scottish fishing village that needs him more than he needs peace. It is also a warm story of love that grows from friendship and mutual admiration. A story that leaves one happily sighing and delightfully uplifted.
Beautifully but quietly written. This isn't a book filled with edge of your seat suspense or nail-biting sexual tension. It is merely a sweet, exquisitely told story of a retired Navy Dr. looking for a quiet place to practice but finding a down-on-your-luck Scottish fishing village that needs him more than he needs peace. It is also a warm story of love that grows from friendship and mutual admiration. A story that leaves one happily sighing and delightfully uplifted.
May 21, 2024
Another fine comfort read with a wonderful history lesson about the Scottish clearances.
September 23, 2025
A Regency re-read. 4 stars.
Heartwarming.
Douglas, a retired Naval surgeon & auburn-haired
beauty Olive, dtr of the late vicar, she owned a
tearoom- both MCs displayed integrity & kindness.
They were 37 & 30 respectively. At times they were
too good to be true. She was exhausting her
inheritance by feeding villagers who had no means
to afford a meal. They swapped labor for a meal IE
the seamstress did some work for Olive (or someone
else Olive identified.) or villagers swapped skills w/
each other.
Douglas responded to sudden noises & he relived
the war in bad drams. He and Olive later
repurposed found items to help others.
This had humor & sadness: domestic violence &
a recounting of the Highland Clearances: cattle
farmers forced to flee the Highlands to make
way for sheep farmers. Landlords had tenant
farmer abodes set on fire. The people in this
story had settled in the Lowlands, a once
thriving fishing community.
Douglas met Olive when he traveled to find the ideal
place to set up a medical practice. He discovered
a wounded village boy & his sire striking his much
pregnant wife. The influential village member was
Lady Mary Tedford, was not who she appeared to be.
There was a palpable MC attraction from the start.
I liked the MCs slow burn, but at times I thought
"kiss her already." The MCs had some creative
ideas on rebuilding the village, while respecting
the pride of those who needed the most help.
Some more financially situated folks learned to
give a little.
Heartwarming.
Douglas, a retired Naval surgeon & auburn-haired
beauty Olive, dtr of the late vicar, she owned a
tearoom- both MCs displayed integrity & kindness.
They were 37 & 30 respectively. At times they were
too good to be true. She was exhausting her
inheritance by feeding villagers who had no means
to afford a meal. They swapped labor for a meal IE
the seamstress did some work for Olive (or someone
else Olive identified.) or villagers swapped skills w/
each other.
Douglas responded to sudden noises & he relived
the war in bad drams. He and Olive later
repurposed found items to help others.
This had humor & sadness: domestic violence &
a recounting of the Highland Clearances: cattle
farmers forced to flee the Highlands to make
way for sheep farmers. Landlords had tenant
farmer abodes set on fire. The people in this
story had settled in the Lowlands, a once
thriving fishing community.
Douglas met Olive when he traveled to find the ideal
place to set up a medical practice. He discovered
a wounded village boy & his sire striking his much
pregnant wife. The influential village member was
Lady Mary Tedford, was not who she appeared to be.
There was a palpable MC attraction from the start.
I liked the MCs slow burn, but at times I thought
"kiss her already." The MCs had some creative
ideas on rebuilding the village, while respecting
the pride of those who needed the most help.
Some more financially situated folks learned to
give a little.
February 9, 2016
I enjoyed this sweet novel about two people trying to help a small town in Scotland that started poor and became more poor when Highland refugees were driven there after they were forced to leave their homes during the Highland Clearances. My interest may have been higher than average because some of my own ancestors left Scotland during the Clearances, but overall I think it’s a story most readers will enjoy.
The main characters are likeable and slightly quirky. Douglas Bowden is a surgeon recently retired from the Royal Navy. He’s looking for a quite place to practice. Edgar doesn’t really fit the bill, but he stays to help a little boy with a compound fracture, then stays longer to help one person, then another. Olive Grant is a 30-year-old spinster doing what she can to help her townspeople, but she has limited funds. While there is a clean love story, it didn’t drive the plot, and I enjoyed that. Many of the characters have been through traumatic events in their pasts, but I’d call this a cheerful, feel-good novel about helping others. 4.5 stars.
The main characters are likeable and slightly quirky. Douglas Bowden is a surgeon recently retired from the Royal Navy. He’s looking for a quite place to practice. Edgar doesn’t really fit the bill, but he stays to help a little boy with a compound fracture, then stays longer to help one person, then another. Olive Grant is a 30-year-old spinster doing what she can to help her townspeople, but she has limited funds. While there is a clean love story, it didn’t drive the plot, and I enjoyed that. Many of the characters have been through traumatic events in their pasts, but I’d call this a cheerful, feel-good novel about helping others. 4.5 stars.
May 24, 2017
I love the way Carla Kelly tells stories with characters that are real and believable. I learned a new aspect of the history of Scotland and the impact on the people who lived there. I couldn't help but feel for Doug and Olive who had their hands full but still did everything they could to serve their community and neighbors, solve problems, and put out fires. One of my favorites by this author!
February 18, 2019
fascinating look at a time period in Scottish history not often explored in romance fiction
August 30, 2016
Carla Kelly is an auto-buy author for me. She reminds me a little bit of a modern day Jane Austen but with a tad more bite; sweet but with a dose of pepper. I am not sure there is even a mediocre book among her backlist much less a poor one. Her latest novel is another winner and I am sure Kelly fans will not be disappointed. This fan certainly was not.
Captain Douglas Bowden is selling out of the British Royal Navy at the end of the war against Napoleon. He is thirty-seven years old and has known practically nothing but the swaying of a ship for twenty-odd years. While the Navy wants him to stay on as a naval surgeon, Douglas just wants a quiet home somewhere where he cannot see or smell the sea, and can make a decent living practicing surgery. As he sets out to find a home, he heads north and eventually finds himself in Scotland. Inland stops along the way convince Douglas that he does indeed need the sea close by and when the coach stops in a small coastal town it serves only to strengthen that conviction. With the coach come barely to a stop for a quick bite and to refresh the horses, Douglas is met with the sight of a small boy with a broken and bleeding leg. What is a surgeon to do? Why, stay and assist of course.
The small town of Edgar has a tea room run by Miss Olive Grant, and it is to this establishment that Douglas brings the injured child. Olive is the daughter of the deceased rector of Edgar and Miss Grant’s Tea Room serves as a kind of hub for the downtrodden community. The war has taken Edgar’s once thriving ship-building industry and moved it to a different location, and the Highland Clearances impacted the town as well as the native highlanders who were thrown out of their homes and dumped along the coastline. Edgar has its share of highlanders who have not been integrated into the community and are slowly starving to death. Olive is using her meager inheritance to help where she can.
With the sound of cannonfire still ringing in his ears and the memories of all the men he could not save from war haunting his dreams, Douglas is suffering. His decades of war, blood and gore have made him older than his years and all he wants is to live out his life with some degree of calm and quiet. Because of his profession, he cannot get rid of the blood, but perhaps he can find the calm and quiet. Douglas is just an exquisite character. Suffering from PTSD, he means to soldier on but he cannot always control his flashbacks. He is outwardly stoic, but inwardly suffering to such a degree it is hard to understand how he makes it through each day. There is such a sense of vulnerability that the reader wants to help him recover. It is no wonder that Olive Grant wants to as well. The slow building of their friendship and then relationship is both poignant and entirely believable. Slowly but surely, Douglas becomes a part of the community, and though he is determined to find his quiet little home, Edgar doesn’t want to let him go. You see Edgar is suffering from a type of PTSD itself and needs the healing hands and heart of a surgeon.
Kelly does an excellent job of showing the aftermath of war and the devastation of the Highland Clearances, which was a war within itself. It is against this backdrop that the love story of Douglas and Olive is allowed to bloom. Both are filled with a sense of duty; Olive from her rector father and Douglas from serving his country. Both are somewhat overwhelmed by where their duties have taken them and we see these shared traits give both of them hope for a future. Olive and Douglas are intricately drawn and sympathetic characters. I love that Carla Kelly creates heroes and heroines from everyday people just trying to get through life as best they can and turns them into memorable characters. Doing No Harm is another DIK in a long list of them.
Captain Douglas Bowden is selling out of the British Royal Navy at the end of the war against Napoleon. He is thirty-seven years old and has known practically nothing but the swaying of a ship for twenty-odd years. While the Navy wants him to stay on as a naval surgeon, Douglas just wants a quiet home somewhere where he cannot see or smell the sea, and can make a decent living practicing surgery. As he sets out to find a home, he heads north and eventually finds himself in Scotland. Inland stops along the way convince Douglas that he does indeed need the sea close by and when the coach stops in a small coastal town it serves only to strengthen that conviction. With the coach come barely to a stop for a quick bite and to refresh the horses, Douglas is met with the sight of a small boy with a broken and bleeding leg. What is a surgeon to do? Why, stay and assist of course.
The small town of Edgar has a tea room run by Miss Olive Grant, and it is to this establishment that Douglas brings the injured child. Olive is the daughter of the deceased rector of Edgar and Miss Grant’s Tea Room serves as a kind of hub for the downtrodden community. The war has taken Edgar’s once thriving ship-building industry and moved it to a different location, and the Highland Clearances impacted the town as well as the native highlanders who were thrown out of their homes and dumped along the coastline. Edgar has its share of highlanders who have not been integrated into the community and are slowly starving to death. Olive is using her meager inheritance to help where she can.
With the sound of cannonfire still ringing in his ears and the memories of all the men he could not save from war haunting his dreams, Douglas is suffering. His decades of war, blood and gore have made him older than his years and all he wants is to live out his life with some degree of calm and quiet. Because of his profession, he cannot get rid of the blood, but perhaps he can find the calm and quiet. Douglas is just an exquisite character. Suffering from PTSD, he means to soldier on but he cannot always control his flashbacks. He is outwardly stoic, but inwardly suffering to such a degree it is hard to understand how he makes it through each day. There is such a sense of vulnerability that the reader wants to help him recover. It is no wonder that Olive Grant wants to as well. The slow building of their friendship and then relationship is both poignant and entirely believable. Slowly but surely, Douglas becomes a part of the community, and though he is determined to find his quiet little home, Edgar doesn’t want to let him go. You see Edgar is suffering from a type of PTSD itself and needs the healing hands and heart of a surgeon.
Kelly does an excellent job of showing the aftermath of war and the devastation of the Highland Clearances, which was a war within itself. It is against this backdrop that the love story of Douglas and Olive is allowed to bloom. Both are filled with a sense of duty; Olive from her rector father and Douglas from serving his country. Both are somewhat overwhelmed by where their duties have taken them and we see these shared traits give both of them hope for a future. Olive and Douglas are intricately drawn and sympathetic characters. I love that Carla Kelly creates heroes and heroines from everyday people just trying to get through life as best they can and turns them into memorable characters. Doing No Harm is another DIK in a long list of them.
November 4, 2018
This is the story of how, in 1816, two almost saintly paragons of virtue, Douglas Bowden and Olive Grant, took the little Scottish town of Edgar from despair, misery, resentment and abject poverty to a place of hope, a sense of community and humanity and relative prosperity. It is at times dreary yet hopeful at the same time, definitely tear-provoking, emotionally manipulative and instructive of what it means to be a good and caring person. It is an admirable, worthy, affecting story. If Carla Kelly had not written this, I would have hated it.
Someone else would have turned this into a really terrible Hallmark made-for-TV movie of a story, complete with awful music and bad acting. Kelly turns it into a story that chokes me up and makes me wish the world could clone Douglas and Olive several times over and strategically place them around the globe.
Douglas, our hero, doesn't just 'do no harm'. That would be a miserly, understated description of him. He's a burnt out, PTSD-suffering doctor recently retired from the Royal Navy. He's seen so much death and violence and suffering that the images don't leave him even when he sleeps. An Englishman, he sets out looking for the perfect small town to retire to and set up his practice. While scoping out areas, he passes through Edgar and stops to fix up a young lad with a leg badly broken thanks to his drunken father's abuse.
Vowing to stay only until the boy's leg has healed, he spends his wait time fixing up other ills and ailments in the small town and finds himself drawn to the people who need his help and also drawn to Olive Grant, the late vicar's daughter, owner of a tearoom which he discovers serves as a non-profit place for those with hungry bellies and empty pockets to feed themselves. Olive is steadily using up all her money in her charity work. Then what will the town do?
The reason for the poverty and misery will enrage you if you don't know Scottish history but, unfortunately, it's just another in the endless list throughout the centuries of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. Carla Kelly gives us Douglas and Olive fighting the good fight to do their small part to counteract this. And as they do, they inspire others to take up the fight also. Would that there were more of these people in the world.
This is an excellent story to read at Christmas time. Not because it's a seasonal message. It's an all-year-round message of hope and love and of everyone lighting just one little candle to make the world a brighter place.
Someone else would have turned this into a really terrible Hallmark made-for-TV movie of a story, complete with awful music and bad acting. Kelly turns it into a story that chokes me up and makes me wish the world could clone Douglas and Olive several times over and strategically place them around the globe.
Douglas, our hero, doesn't just 'do no harm'. That would be a miserly, understated description of him. He's a burnt out, PTSD-suffering doctor recently retired from the Royal Navy. He's seen so much death and violence and suffering that the images don't leave him even when he sleeps. An Englishman, he sets out looking for the perfect small town to retire to and set up his practice. While scoping out areas, he passes through Edgar and stops to fix up a young lad with a leg badly broken thanks to his drunken father's abuse.
Vowing to stay only until the boy's leg has healed, he spends his wait time fixing up other ills and ailments in the small town and finds himself drawn to the people who need his help and also drawn to Olive Grant, the late vicar's daughter, owner of a tearoom which he discovers serves as a non-profit place for those with hungry bellies and empty pockets to feed themselves. Olive is steadily using up all her money in her charity work. Then what will the town do?
The reason for the poverty and misery will enrage you if you don't know Scottish history but, unfortunately, it's just another in the endless list throughout the centuries of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. Carla Kelly gives us Douglas and Olive fighting the good fight to do their small part to counteract this. And as they do, they inspire others to take up the fight also. Would that there were more of these people in the world.
This is an excellent story to read at Christmas time. Not because it's a seasonal message. It's an all-year-round message of hope and love and of everyone lighting just one little candle to make the world a brighter place.
November 28, 2015
4.5 stars. Reviewed at Dear Author: http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/ov...
July 6, 2020
I don't think people such as Mr.Bowden and his Kind lady exist ( its too much to hope even for a fiction ). Or perhaps they do, if the cruelties described in this book did exist then maybe kindness did too. Carla kelly does it again.
November 17, 2015
Like many in our times at least, Carla Kelly is appalled by the land clearances of the 19th century when landowners forcibly removed most of the Highlanders from their traditional lands in Scotland. In particular, she's upset by the actions of the incredibly wealthy Dutchess of Sutherland who knew that her agents conducted terrible, nearly genocidal, acts in her name.
Kelly is also passionate about medical men of the 19th century, particularly those attached to the military, in this case the British Fleet that helped stop Napoleon.
Lastly, she cares about human charity, in which one person steps forward to help or save others without thought of compensation. They simply do what is right to do, despite cost to themselves, because they have to.
She brings all three strands of this passion together in this book. No doubt the historic details are as truthful as possible for fiction. The town of Edgar is based on an actual lowland, seaside town Kelly's ancestors once lived in, and it's depicted truthfully from the pretty pastel houses to the awful smell at low tide.
So, why only three stars? I really like Kelly, she's usually an auto four star for me. In this case it's because the center of the story - which is a love story - simply did not have the author's full passion behind it. She wrote it beautifully, the characters are detailed, the plot advances... And yet. It's all too perfect, too glib in a way, empty of the author's passion in its core. She cares about the Highlanders more than the couple who try to help them. I almost felt like the couple were there as plot devices because it's a romance so you must have a couple.
Also, at one point, she has a character scold the Dutchess of Sutherland to her face, a set up that felt transparently to me to be the author yearning to do so herself, rather than something grown from the character's own reality.
I must say that this is all subtle. I may have only noticed it because I've been a fan of Kelly's for years. If this were my first, I may well have been much more satisfied by the story.
If you are interested in any of the three passions I mentioned above, you will definitely get something from this book.
Kelly is also passionate about medical men of the 19th century, particularly those attached to the military, in this case the British Fleet that helped stop Napoleon.
Lastly, she cares about human charity, in which one person steps forward to help or save others without thought of compensation. They simply do what is right to do, despite cost to themselves, because they have to.
She brings all three strands of this passion together in this book. No doubt the historic details are as truthful as possible for fiction. The town of Edgar is based on an actual lowland, seaside town Kelly's ancestors once lived in, and it's depicted truthfully from the pretty pastel houses to the awful smell at low tide.
So, why only three stars? I really like Kelly, she's usually an auto four star for me. In this case it's because the center of the story - which is a love story - simply did not have the author's full passion behind it. She wrote it beautifully, the characters are detailed, the plot advances... And yet. It's all too perfect, too glib in a way, empty of the author's passion in its core. She cares about the Highlanders more than the couple who try to help them. I almost felt like the couple were there as plot devices because it's a romance so you must have a couple.
Also, at one point, she has a character scold the Dutchess of Sutherland to her face, a set up that felt transparently to me to be the author yearning to do so herself, rather than something grown from the character's own reality.
I must say that this is all subtle. I may have only noticed it because I've been a fan of Kelly's for years. If this were my first, I may well have been much more satisfied by the story.
If you are interested in any of the three passions I mentioned above, you will definitely get something from this book.
May 21, 2016
Though the story is good, based on a real life Navy surgeon's life, it does tend to get a bit slow through the middle. I was intending to put it away without completing but then my inquisitiveness took over. And one thing I'm really curious about, why does Carla Kelly put in some very misplaced actions through the scenes? I wouldn't give in spoilers but then I found some things quite absurd like the instant crying by the characters, especially the hero and the heroine. I can understand it being because of the misery they are surrounded with but it got a little too much for me at some places. Books like North and South also had a great deal of grief and misery but the writing was so remarkable that you literally miss the book after closing it! Other than that the story goes fine. The heroine has a remarkable appearance, the hero is the main driving force here.
Readers need some patience to go through this. Not as good as her other works that I have read, but passable.
Readers need some patience to go through this. Not as good as her other works that I have read, but passable.
August 27, 2021
Angsty story based on the sad history of the Clearings in Scotland. It's a slow pace for good reason, everyone has to find peace with the horror they experienced. The doctor H suffers PTSD and is very ashamed. The practical h is mix of fire and kindness, not cloyingly sweet. I liked her not being perfectly suited to be being a doctor's wife. Loved their HEA.
August 21, 2020
2.5
Kelly's take on the Scottish highland removals focuses less on the Highlanders themselves and more on a village of poor lowlanders upon whom a group of highlanders are foisted, and on their slow learning the necessity of being charitable to "outsiders." The lesson is learned through the selfless work of the romance's two protagonists: Olive Grant, a lowland Scot, who has been spending her small inheritance feeding the destitute of her town; and Douglas Bowden, a former navy surgeon who is looking for a peaceful village far from the sea where he can forget the horrors of war. Whilst searching for said village, Douglas ends detained in the seaside Scottish town of Edgar, tending to a small boy's badly broken leg. And then he stays, and stays, and stays, as the townspeople's medical problems, and the kindly Olive, engross his attention. The example of their selfless charity inspires other townspeople; their plans to help alleviate the highlanders' poverty start small, but as a determined Highland girl joins their campaign, both lowlanders and highlanders begin to work together to make Edgar a more prosperous place.
This is all to say that I enjoyed the story, and the characters, but was uncomfortable with the book's ideological underpinnings: Exercising Christian charity, rather than working for political change, is the solution to social problems. I also felt uncomfortable with the wealth of crying at/about others' trauma—made me remember workshops on race that I've attended, where POC have talked about having to deal not only with the trauma of racism, but the tears of white people who are upset by hearing about said trauma. Interestingly, the two villains of the piece—a Highland man who used alcohol and his fists against his family to exercise his trauma, and an English widow of a butcher who earned a knighthood by lending money to the Prince of Wales, money he earned from investing in slaving—are both redeemed. The latter especially made me feel gross, because Lady Telford's money is ultimately used to revivify the Scottish town. It's hard to cheer the town's, and the displaced Highlanders', recovery, knowing that they came at the even greater trauma of African enslavement.
Kelly's take on the Scottish highland removals focuses less on the Highlanders themselves and more on a village of poor lowlanders upon whom a group of highlanders are foisted, and on their slow learning the necessity of being charitable to "outsiders." The lesson is learned through the selfless work of the romance's two protagonists: Olive Grant, a lowland Scot, who has been spending her small inheritance feeding the destitute of her town; and Douglas Bowden, a former navy surgeon who is looking for a peaceful village far from the sea where he can forget the horrors of war. Whilst searching for said village, Douglas ends detained in the seaside Scottish town of Edgar, tending to a small boy's badly broken leg. And then he stays, and stays, and stays, as the townspeople's medical problems, and the kindly Olive, engross his attention. The example of their selfless charity inspires other townspeople; their plans to help alleviate the highlanders' poverty start small, but as a determined Highland girl joins their campaign, both lowlanders and highlanders begin to work together to make Edgar a more prosperous place.
This is all to say that I enjoyed the story, and the characters, but was uncomfortable with the book's ideological underpinnings: Exercising Christian charity, rather than working for political change, is the solution to social problems. I also felt uncomfortable with the wealth of crying at/about others' trauma—made me remember workshops on race that I've attended, where POC have talked about having to deal not only with the trauma of racism, but the tears of white people who are upset by hearing about said trauma. Interestingly, the two villains of the piece—a Highland man who used alcohol and his fists against his family to exercise his trauma, and an English widow of a butcher who earned a knighthood by lending money to the Prince of Wales, money he earned from investing in slaving—are both redeemed. The latter especially made me feel gross, because Lady Telford's money is ultimately used to revivify the Scottish town. It's hard to cheer the town's, and the displaced Highlanders', recovery, knowing that they came at the even greater trauma of African enslavement.
January 20, 2017
This book is pretty typical of its genre, I shouldn't have been surprised. But people keep recommending them, so every once in a while I decide to give it another try. The good: a nice little story, not too sappy, great uplifting theme. The bad: it's true to form, and the reason I dislike this type of books: flat characters, highly predictable, lack of originality, depth and conflict in the plot. But mostly I miss the escapism. I read novels for the most part, to escape, and books like this don't take me anywhere. At the end of the last page, I'm still just bored to death on the couch.
January 11, 2021
What a wonderful story. This book is beautiful. Carla Kelly has mastered writing about everyday people in the Regency Era.
August 24, 2019
Beautiful, thought-provoking, wonderful characters you want to be friends with
Captain Bowden, recently retired surgeon of the Royal Navy is travelling north in look for a quiet and peaceful town to establish his private practice. In the middle of his journey, he stops at the fish smelling town of Edgar and can hardly wait to be back into the mail coach. Destiny had other plans and he ends up having to stay in town for a while in order to set the bones of a poor boy's leg. Miss Olive Grant's tea room seems to be the heart of tired and ugly Edgar town and he is captivated by her compassion, her selfishness, and her practical nature. But Edgar is not for him. He deserves a quieter place after 25 years serving King and Country. He will leave soon. Next week or the next...
Lovely read! What wonderful people! I wish I could sit with them in the tea room, I wish they were all my friends.
Captain Bowden, recently retired surgeon of the Royal Navy is travelling north in look for a quiet and peaceful town to establish his private practice. In the middle of his journey, he stops at the fish smelling town of Edgar and can hardly wait to be back into the mail coach. Destiny had other plans and he ends up having to stay in town for a while in order to set the bones of a poor boy's leg. Miss Olive Grant's tea room seems to be the heart of tired and ugly Edgar town and he is captivated by her compassion, her selfishness, and her practical nature. But Edgar is not for him. He deserves a quieter place after 25 years serving King and Country. He will leave soon. Next week or the next...
Lovely read! What wonderful people! I wish I could sit with them in the tea room, I wish they were all my friends.
March 28, 2016
In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, the residents of Edgar, a poor Scottish fishing village, were left with few means for survival. For them, hope came in the shape of a surgeon, recently retired from the Royal Navy, in search for the ideal place to open a quiet country practice. He hadn't set out to save anyone - he'd had his fill of it at sea - but true to his calling, he couldn't leave a child with a compound fracture untended. Before long, encouraged by the heroine's example, he wasn't only practicing medicine but looking for ways to improve the villagers' everyday lives.
Not for the first time Carla Kelly tied my heartstrings into a sailor's knot with her haunting prose. Oddly enough, in this novel angst wasn't to blame. The characters were entirely at fault, going so far above and beyond simple good works - as if doing good is hardly ever easy - as they did in near-complete disregard for their personal circumstances. They renewed my faith in human kindness, which is something that, as it turned out, I sorely needed.
A poor fishing village might seem like an odd setting for romance. But, for a love story between two ordinary people with an extraordinary capacity for compassion it was perfect.
This story is loosely linked to the Channel Fleet trilogy.
Marrying The Captain
The Surgeon's Lady
Marrying The Royal Marine
And even if it's not necessary to read these books to enjoy this novel, I recommend them all without reservations.
Not for the first time Carla Kelly tied my heartstrings into a sailor's knot with her haunting prose. Oddly enough, in this novel angst wasn't to blame. The characters were entirely at fault, going so far above and beyond simple good works - as if doing good is hardly ever easy - as they did in near-complete disregard for their personal circumstances. They renewed my faith in human kindness, which is something that, as it turned out, I sorely needed.
A poor fishing village might seem like an odd setting for romance. But, for a love story between two ordinary people with an extraordinary capacity for compassion it was perfect.
This story is loosely linked to the Channel Fleet trilogy.
Marrying The Captain
The Surgeon's Lady
Marrying The Royal Marine
And even if it's not necessary to read these books to enjoy this novel, I recommend them all without reservations.
March 23, 2019
Romance, clean, historical.
This novel was a wonderful read. The setting in the small Scottish town of Edgar with it's great need for kindness, and more than charity, was so lovely.
There was healing of bodies, 2 hearts finding each other, and healing for the whole town. Doug and Olive are seeking to help the hurt and hungry in the little dying Town on the coast of Scotland.
This is a heartfelt, wonderful story. Myriad bodies need to be healed, but there are so many traumas of the mind that are in need of help and healing too.
Douglas as a surgeon is helping the bodies, but his kind heart also seeks to help their pride and help the lowly and hurt find a place in the little village.
Olive's compassion for the hurt and downtrodden as she tries to bring some food, and some courage to the poor along with keeping her father's ministry alive, allows her kindness to help heal Doug's hurting soul too.
I would read this again and again. The characters read like a Gaskell novel in the best way, but with C. K.'s voice of hope and optimism that permeates all of her novels. A few days that turn into a magical life of hope. Trouble isn't gone, but it has been pushed aside to bring work and bread and love. Beautiful writing. Probably my favorite book I have read this year.
This novel was a wonderful read. The setting in the small Scottish town of Edgar with it's great need for kindness, and more than charity, was so lovely.
There was healing of bodies, 2 hearts finding each other, and healing for the whole town. Doug and Olive are seeking to help the hurt and hungry in the little dying Town on the coast of Scotland.
This is a heartfelt, wonderful story. Myriad bodies need to be healed, but there are so many traumas of the mind that are in need of help and healing too.
Douglas as a surgeon is helping the bodies, but his kind heart also seeks to help their pride and help the lowly and hurt find a place in the little village.
Olive's compassion for the hurt and downtrodden as she tries to bring some food, and some courage to the poor along with keeping her father's ministry alive, allows her kindness to help heal Doug's hurting soul too.
I would read this again and again. The characters read like a Gaskell novel in the best way, but with C. K.'s voice of hope and optimism that permeates all of her novels. A few days that turn into a magical life of hope. Trouble isn't gone, but it has been pushed aside to bring work and bread and love. Beautiful writing. Probably my favorite book I have read this year.
July 18, 2016
The hero spends too much time insisting that he is only staying temporarily and not enough time falling in love. There is also a little to much free and easy contact between the hero and heroine without societal consequences which did not seem in keeping with the time period. It is also doubtful that one person could cause so much to happen in such a short period of time. However, this book explores an ugly, sad part of Scottish history something I knew little about before reading the book, in that way it was well worth reading. The characters are well drawn and fully realized and there are some very sweet moments in the story. On the whole a good, not great read.
December 5, 2015
Once again Carla Kelly tells a moving, funny, heartbreaking and redemptive tale of common people during the Regency era. Why aren't there more stories like this? Ms. kelly excels at tales of broken people -- usually suffering the after effects of service to their country in war -- who find love and redemption with the right person, a person who understands them. I shed tears and laughed and cheered for Douglas and Olive, not just to come together in the end, but the build a live of their village as they found each other. Brava!
December 2, 2015
This was extremely unexpected. This a heart felt, deeply rooted, intelligent, giving in sacrifice book. This book took such an unexpected turn it had me hook line and sinker from the beginning to the end. Tearful moments and gut wrenching moments. It not only depicted real historical emotionally deep circumstances, it reached down deep into unspoken challenges in history, and life. I swear it even touched on P.T.S.D. Misunderstanding and yes love, but in a unique way. I understand why this was nominated for the Whitney award
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May 15, 2016
My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts... for more, visit Punya Reviews...
Doing No Harm was yet another clean romance by Carla Kelly with lots of emotions and “feel good” vibe. I generally love the setting and characters Ms. Kelly draws through her narration; so simple, yet so very complicated. But that is human nature I guess.
The year is 1816. Royal Navy’s one of the most esteemed surgeons Captain Douglas Bowden has seen it all, done it all in the decks of many ships he’d doctored over the past 25 years. Now in his late 30s, Douglas wants to say goodbye to it all. He’s decided to retire, find a small, peaceful place, start over as a village/town surgeon... maybe marry and have some kids and live that way for the rest of his life. Would that life was so simple! Even though the officials try to convince him to not to resign, citing that experts like Douglas are needed on a daily basis, Douglas is not listening to anyone. He wants peace. He wants quiet, because Douglas has been missing both for all his life.
Douglas’s father was a cooper. Living at the lower edges of society, Douglas had no future to speak of. He joined the navy at the age of 12 after his mother died. But Douglas was also brilliant and very hardworking, which saw him getting several big promotions over the years, ending up as the Captain. The glimpses of just how devoted he was to his work are given through his own monologues. Even though he’d earned a small fortune, which doubled with the help of a few clever investments, Douglas had no big dream. He wanted to live frugal as he always had, preferably somewhere not near the sea. He’s had enough of that for a lifetime. He can’t even sleep well because of the PTSD that haunts him every single night. Nightmares of war, of the patients he couldn’t save threaten to choke him but Duncan has no one turn to. That was until he met Olive Grant.
Now there in lies the ultimate story. Duncan didn’t want to be anywhere near the sea, but who was he kidding? He couldn’t live far from the sea anyway because the sea is in his blood. His quest for a perfect place to start over brings him to one of Scotland’s very small and poor, an almost forgotten village called Edgar, which once used to be a tourist destination. Duncan originally had no interest to stay there but for a few days. The shabby look, the overflow of poor, illiterate and very much unwanted Highlanders who were rooted out of their own lands where they lived for thousands of years, all because of the so called “Highland Clearances” (google it, or read the afterward, a very much historical fact), made Duncan want to be somewhere else pronto. However, on his very first day, the moment he stepped into Edgar, Duncan’s life changed irrevocably. For one, he gets his first patient while looking for Miss Grant’s famous tearoom. Not only he finally finds his way to the tearoom with a boy with broken leg in his arms, he also meets the famous Miss Grant, who, as Duncan would come to respect as the Kind Lady of Edgar.
Olive has been in Edgar all her life. It’s her hometown, and her deceased father being the Vicar, she was brought up to be responsible for whom she deem are her people. But it’s not all about responsibility. Olive loves the people of Edgar, which is such a small village that here, everyone knows everyone’s business. And everyone here certainly knows the Kind Lady who lets the older folks eat free meals every day. Who’d help anyone in need as soon as the word reaches her. She does whatever she can, however she can to help. And yet Olive doesn’t have a lot of money. Whatever she’d inherited from her father is about to run out and she doesn’t know how she’s going to carry on. She’s been doing everything on her own so long, yet sometimes, even a lonely, plain spinster wants someone to rely on. Wants to share her burden with someone special. Until one Douglas Bowden stepped into her life very unexpectedly, Olive too thought she stood alone in this world.
In the past, Olive has tried to help the Highlanders fallen on such hard times, but she’s only one person. The people still harbored the old superstitions, and no one wanted these poor, illiterate beings who have no special skills to speak of other than farming and herding kettle, which is not at all needed at a fishing village like Edgar. Hence, they couldn’t really eke out a livelihood. Even though some worked at the slowly running small fishing docks in the preparation of the fish that were brought there, many didn’t even have that. And it led some to drink copiously and act violently. You’d see some examples of that in the story, as Duncan has to deal with it firsthand. Olive wanted to help them but she had no idea what to do, how to go about it... where even to start. She wasn’t worldly, she didn’t know people who could help.
But when Douglas Bowden came in with a charming smile on his rough and tanned face, Olive knew he was a blessing to this little village. They needed a doctor so, so bad… but more so, they needed a savior. Douglas was all wrapped up in a tough, yet gentle package. Tough, because he could put up a front when it was needed; he had to while dealing with his patients, the dead and the dying. Gentle, because… well, you just have to read to know why I said it. Douglas is a gentleman inside and out, with a wry wit that brought smile to Olive’s face. Soon, even the thought of him would smiles on her face regularly. But he’d also made it certain everyone knew that he isn’t here to stay. But is it all that simple?
Douglas wanted to leave after treating the little boy who broke his legs... then he found this patient or that, with problems big and small, needing for his help badly. And it went on from there... Of course, Douglas would help no matter what, even if this wasn’t in his future plan to settle in such a shabby place with no hope of a respectable earning. Soon he was renting a place for himself, temporarily of course, so he could leave when this or that patient is finally healed. Would that life was that simple and not playing tricks on him! On the inside, Douglas knew he was falling in love with Edgar and it’s people... but most of all, one tall and curvy tearoom owner who has stolen his heart with her kind ways and her beautiful, soul-warming smile. He knew Olive Grant was as much his calling as his vocation but did she think of him that way? Douglas was scared to even entertain the notion. He wasn’t a goodlooking guy, he didn’t even think he could charm a lady (though everybody else thought the other way round) but would he make a good husband? A good father? Can Olive life with him and his thousand wartime demons for the rest of their lives?
Whatever was in his mind, soon Douglas was also taking charge of the Highlander problem. Not only he was man of hard work, Douglas was also use to taking charge effectively. It was in his nature, so no one questioned Douglas even once about his intentions. By then, even after Douglas’s repeated notice about his looming departure (mostly to convince himself he had to), everyone in Edgar was already calling him their Doctor. Their trust in him was unshakable. Even in his mind Douglas knew he’d already rooted in a place that would’ve never been in his original plan. Nope, life isn’t that simple after all.
The Highlanders thrown out of their lands were drowning into a sea of hopelessness. They were so poor, they couldn’t even make do sometimes. There are scenes here that’d simply gut you when you read about their misery but Douglas was determined to turn things around. And for that he started planning. Ever industrial, he finds jobs for little Highlander children who can make charms and wind chimes from sea shells to sell to a few tourists that still visited the village. The children were soon earning a tidy amount which not only gave them something to look forward to, but also returned the pride they lost when they were so humiliatingly booted out. The ones that were killed in that horrendous act probably were saved from that humiliation. Yet the ones that didn’t were still suffering from the nightmares, even the children.
All Highlanders are proud creatures, which was a reason why many of them suffered silently yet didn’t ask for help. Douglas and Olive even figured out a way to help those who were too proud to ask, without making them think they were taking charities. They’d work here and there, stuff they can do and Olive would feed them in return. These two were meant to be a team, no doubt about that! A plan forms again in Douglas’s mind about the shipbuilding business that fallen out of favor after the village lost many of its men either to war or to better propositions in bigger towns. They never returned and so, the dock sat abandoned. Douglas planned to bring the dry docks to its former glory, knowing he could do it with the help of a good shipwright. And he knew some good ones! He knew it’d be a long, trying road but he simply couldn’t sit there and watch these people suffer. Soon the town was turning its luck with their beloved Doctor’s help; someone who already was highly revered. Olive also got a good deal out of the newly formed Telford Boat Works as their official caterer, all thanks to Douglas.
At this point, quite a few months have passed instead of 2 that Douglas had originally planned on staying. It was time he left. He’d done all he could for Edgar, he isn’t needed anymore. But can he really leave behind these people and start somewhere anew? People whose lives have irreversibly entwined with his? Most importantly, does he even want to? And what of Miss Grant?
Funny thing is, Douglas probably knew how Olive felt about him. After all, they’d shared some fine kisses, however impulsive they were and enjoyed them to boot. Douglas wanted more, Olive also wanted more... but both were so unsure of one another’s feelings, no thanks to their own past. I’d say Douglas was more vulnerable, so he pushed Olive away a few times, which confused and hurt her. At 28, Olive knew she wasn’t the topnotch marriage material but after all they’ve been through, he must feel their mutual attraction? Yet she didn’t know if they indeed had a future together for quite a while.
Fortunately, in the end, all was figured out in the sweetest way possible, where both Douglas and Olive knew they’re happier and stronger together rather than apart, so it’d have been an idiocy to leave behind the love they’d never thought they’d find. Love do catch people unawares, that you find it in the most unexpected of places.
There’s no “bad” Carla Kelly novel in my eyes. In all, I enjoyed Doing No Harm as I do any Carla Kelly book, clean or otherwise. However, at times it felt that the dialogues of this story were a bit on the cheesy side. I don’t know, but I did roll my eyes here and there. I recommend it nonetheless if you’re looking to spend your time on a lonely afternoon doing some reading. 3.5 stars.
PS: I’m still not sure why the epilogue, a letter from Douglas to one of his friends and comrades, was set in 1987! :/ Was someone reading it in 1987? No idea. But it did catch me by surprise.
Doing No Harm was yet another clean romance by Carla Kelly with lots of emotions and “feel good” vibe. I generally love the setting and characters Ms. Kelly draws through her narration; so simple, yet so very complicated. But that is human nature I guess.
The year is 1816. Royal Navy’s one of the most esteemed surgeons Captain Douglas Bowden has seen it all, done it all in the decks of many ships he’d doctored over the past 25 years. Now in his late 30s, Douglas wants to say goodbye to it all. He’s decided to retire, find a small, peaceful place, start over as a village/town surgeon... maybe marry and have some kids and live that way for the rest of his life. Would that life was so simple! Even though the officials try to convince him to not to resign, citing that experts like Douglas are needed on a daily basis, Douglas is not listening to anyone. He wants peace. He wants quiet, because Douglas has been missing both for all his life.
Douglas’s father was a cooper. Living at the lower edges of society, Douglas had no future to speak of. He joined the navy at the age of 12 after his mother died. But Douglas was also brilliant and very hardworking, which saw him getting several big promotions over the years, ending up as the Captain. The glimpses of just how devoted he was to his work are given through his own monologues. Even though he’d earned a small fortune, which doubled with the help of a few clever investments, Douglas had no big dream. He wanted to live frugal as he always had, preferably somewhere not near the sea. He’s had enough of that for a lifetime. He can’t even sleep well because of the PTSD that haunts him every single night. Nightmares of war, of the patients he couldn’t save threaten to choke him but Duncan has no one turn to. That was until he met Olive Grant.
Now there in lies the ultimate story. Duncan didn’t want to be anywhere near the sea, but who was he kidding? He couldn’t live far from the sea anyway because the sea is in his blood. His quest for a perfect place to start over brings him to one of Scotland’s very small and poor, an almost forgotten village called Edgar, which once used to be a tourist destination. Duncan originally had no interest to stay there but for a few days. The shabby look, the overflow of poor, illiterate and very much unwanted Highlanders who were rooted out of their own lands where they lived for thousands of years, all because of the so called “Highland Clearances” (google it, or read the afterward, a very much historical fact), made Duncan want to be somewhere else pronto. However, on his very first day, the moment he stepped into Edgar, Duncan’s life changed irrevocably. For one, he gets his first patient while looking for Miss Grant’s famous tearoom. Not only he finally finds his way to the tearoom with a boy with broken leg in his arms, he also meets the famous Miss Grant, who, as Duncan would come to respect as the Kind Lady of Edgar.
Olive has been in Edgar all her life. It’s her hometown, and her deceased father being the Vicar, she was brought up to be responsible for whom she deem are her people. But it’s not all about responsibility. Olive loves the people of Edgar, which is such a small village that here, everyone knows everyone’s business. And everyone here certainly knows the Kind Lady who lets the older folks eat free meals every day. Who’d help anyone in need as soon as the word reaches her. She does whatever she can, however she can to help. And yet Olive doesn’t have a lot of money. Whatever she’d inherited from her father is about to run out and she doesn’t know how she’s going to carry on. She’s been doing everything on her own so long, yet sometimes, even a lonely, plain spinster wants someone to rely on. Wants to share her burden with someone special. Until one Douglas Bowden stepped into her life very unexpectedly, Olive too thought she stood alone in this world.
In the past, Olive has tried to help the Highlanders fallen on such hard times, but she’s only one person. The people still harbored the old superstitions, and no one wanted these poor, illiterate beings who have no special skills to speak of other than farming and herding kettle, which is not at all needed at a fishing village like Edgar. Hence, they couldn’t really eke out a livelihood. Even though some worked at the slowly running small fishing docks in the preparation of the fish that were brought there, many didn’t even have that. And it led some to drink copiously and act violently. You’d see some examples of that in the story, as Duncan has to deal with it firsthand. Olive wanted to help them but she had no idea what to do, how to go about it... where even to start. She wasn’t worldly, she didn’t know people who could help.
But when Douglas Bowden came in with a charming smile on his rough and tanned face, Olive knew he was a blessing to this little village. They needed a doctor so, so bad… but more so, they needed a savior. Douglas was all wrapped up in a tough, yet gentle package. Tough, because he could put up a front when it was needed; he had to while dealing with his patients, the dead and the dying. Gentle, because… well, you just have to read to know why I said it. Douglas is a gentleman inside and out, with a wry wit that brought smile to Olive’s face. Soon, even the thought of him would smiles on her face regularly. But he’d also made it certain everyone knew that he isn’t here to stay. But is it all that simple?
Douglas wanted to leave after treating the little boy who broke his legs... then he found this patient or that, with problems big and small, needing for his help badly. And it went on from there... Of course, Douglas would help no matter what, even if this wasn’t in his future plan to settle in such a shabby place with no hope of a respectable earning. Soon he was renting a place for himself, temporarily of course, so he could leave when this or that patient is finally healed. Would that life was that simple and not playing tricks on him! On the inside, Douglas knew he was falling in love with Edgar and it’s people... but most of all, one tall and curvy tearoom owner who has stolen his heart with her kind ways and her beautiful, soul-warming smile. He knew Olive Grant was as much his calling as his vocation but did she think of him that way? Douglas was scared to even entertain the notion. He wasn’t a goodlooking guy, he didn’t even think he could charm a lady (though everybody else thought the other way round) but would he make a good husband? A good father? Can Olive life with him and his thousand wartime demons for the rest of their lives?
Whatever was in his mind, soon Douglas was also taking charge of the Highlander problem. Not only he was man of hard work, Douglas was also use to taking charge effectively. It was in his nature, so no one questioned Douglas even once about his intentions. By then, even after Douglas’s repeated notice about his looming departure (mostly to convince himself he had to), everyone in Edgar was already calling him their Doctor. Their trust in him was unshakable. Even in his mind Douglas knew he’d already rooted in a place that would’ve never been in his original plan. Nope, life isn’t that simple after all.
The Highlanders thrown out of their lands were drowning into a sea of hopelessness. They were so poor, they couldn’t even make do sometimes. There are scenes here that’d simply gut you when you read about their misery but Douglas was determined to turn things around. And for that he started planning. Ever industrial, he finds jobs for little Highlander children who can make charms and wind chimes from sea shells to sell to a few tourists that still visited the village. The children were soon earning a tidy amount which not only gave them something to look forward to, but also returned the pride they lost when they were so humiliatingly booted out. The ones that were killed in that horrendous act probably were saved from that humiliation. Yet the ones that didn’t were still suffering from the nightmares, even the children.
All Highlanders are proud creatures, which was a reason why many of them suffered silently yet didn’t ask for help. Douglas and Olive even figured out a way to help those who were too proud to ask, without making them think they were taking charities. They’d work here and there, stuff they can do and Olive would feed them in return. These two were meant to be a team, no doubt about that! A plan forms again in Douglas’s mind about the shipbuilding business that fallen out of favor after the village lost many of its men either to war or to better propositions in bigger towns. They never returned and so, the dock sat abandoned. Douglas planned to bring the dry docks to its former glory, knowing he could do it with the help of a good shipwright. And he knew some good ones! He knew it’d be a long, trying road but he simply couldn’t sit there and watch these people suffer. Soon the town was turning its luck with their beloved Doctor’s help; someone who already was highly revered. Olive also got a good deal out of the newly formed Telford Boat Works as their official caterer, all thanks to Douglas.
At this point, quite a few months have passed instead of 2 that Douglas had originally planned on staying. It was time he left. He’d done all he could for Edgar, he isn’t needed anymore. But can he really leave behind these people and start somewhere anew? People whose lives have irreversibly entwined with his? Most importantly, does he even want to? And what of Miss Grant?
Funny thing is, Douglas probably knew how Olive felt about him. After all, they’d shared some fine kisses, however impulsive they were and enjoyed them to boot. Douglas wanted more, Olive also wanted more... but both were so unsure of one another’s feelings, no thanks to their own past. I’d say Douglas was more vulnerable, so he pushed Olive away a few times, which confused and hurt her. At 28, Olive knew she wasn’t the topnotch marriage material but after all they’ve been through, he must feel their mutual attraction? Yet she didn’t know if they indeed had a future together for quite a while.
Fortunately, in the end, all was figured out in the sweetest way possible, where both Douglas and Olive knew they’re happier and stronger together rather than apart, so it’d have been an idiocy to leave behind the love they’d never thought they’d find. Love do catch people unawares, that you find it in the most unexpected of places.
There’s no “bad” Carla Kelly novel in my eyes. In all, I enjoyed Doing No Harm as I do any Carla Kelly book, clean or otherwise. However, at times it felt that the dialogues of this story were a bit on the cheesy side. I don’t know, but I did roll my eyes here and there. I recommend it nonetheless if you’re looking to spend your time on a lonely afternoon doing some reading. 3.5 stars.
PS: I’m still not sure why the epilogue, a letter from Douglas to one of his friends and comrades, was set in 1987! :/ Was someone reading it in 1987? No idea. But it did catch me by surprise.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2025
Wonderful!
A deliciously understated and tender romance that fits alongside a portrayal of the fates of displaced Highlanders in Scotland in the early 1800s. Reminded me of A Town Like Alice and a read of the year!
A deliciously understated and tender romance that fits alongside a portrayal of the fates of displaced Highlanders in Scotland in the early 1800s. Reminded me of A Town Like Alice and a read of the year!
October 23, 2020
More history book than romance.
February 1, 2020
This one is going in my favorites and rereads. A beautiful story and romance of healing.
August 8, 2025
i never dnf 💪🏽😤 (even if it take mes most of the year to finish a book)
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