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All Done by Kindness
“There are some embroidered waistcoats . . . They are very old. A museum might be glad of them. . . . There are some pictures too,” Mrs. Hovenden brought out with a fresh effort, “oil paintings that were in the rector’s family.”
The kindness of Dr George Sandilands towards an elderly patient, and her insistence on repaying him with the detritus of her attic, sets in motion a comedy of errors that rocks the art world. Dr Sandilands finally accepts a stack of begrimed paintings, to the horror of his eldest daughter, a stern housekeeper. But his younger daughter is prepared to be swept up in the romance of old treasures, and her boss, an amateur art connoisseur, develops a theory about the artworks and clings to it like a dog with a bone. Enter an art expert who’s not above some shady maneuvers, his adoring secretary, the director of the local art museum, and a sleazy London dealer.
Doris Langley Moore has packed her unpredictable, compulsively readable plot with subtlety, wit, and insight, and with an array of characters both lovable and so delectably nefarious that they’re begging for their just deserts. All Done by Kindness is a rollicking masterpiece of tight plotting and unexpected machinations. This new edition features an introduction by Sir Roy Strong.
The kindness of Dr George Sandilands towards an elderly patient, and her insistence on repaying him with the detritus of her attic, sets in motion a comedy of errors that rocks the art world. Dr Sandilands finally accepts a stack of begrimed paintings, to the horror of his eldest daughter, a stern housekeeper. But his younger daughter is prepared to be swept up in the romance of old treasures, and her boss, an amateur art connoisseur, develops a theory about the artworks and clings to it like a dog with a bone. Enter an art expert who’s not above some shady maneuvers, his adoring secretary, the director of the local art museum, and a sleazy London dealer.
Doris Langley Moore has packed her unpredictable, compulsively readable plot with subtlety, wit, and insight, and with an array of characters both lovable and so delectably nefarious that they’re begging for their just deserts. All Done by Kindness is a rollicking masterpiece of tight plotting and unexpected machinations. This new edition features an introduction by Sir Roy Strong.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1951
53 people are currently reading
379 people want to read
About the author
Doris Langley Moore
31 books18 followersDoris Langley Moore OBE (1902–1989) also known as Doris Langley-Levy Moore, was one of the first important female fashion historians. She founded the Fashion Museum, Bath, (as The Museum of Costume) in 1963. She was also a well-respected Lord Byron scholar, and author of a 1940s ballet, The Quest. As a result of these wide-ranging interests, she had many connections within fashionable, intellectual, artistic and theatrical circles.
(wikipedia)
(wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
October 1, 2023
4.5 Stars.
What a delightful romp! This book was totally addictive. I was so tempted as I was reading to skip ahead to the end- I had to know who the ultimate “winner” was.
We meet Dr. Sandilands, a sweet, kind man who helps out an elderly patient, Mrs. Hovenden. In return for helping her out monetarily, she insists he takes a trunkful of old paintings. On first glance, they look like rubbish. From there, we enter the world of high stakes art. Ruthless art collectors who lie and maneuver to get what they want. This book is a zany art caper of a book. There are characters to root for- Stephanie du Plessis, Dr. Sandilands; and there are characters to despise- Sir Harry and even Beatrice. There is some romance; there is humour; there is suspense- this book has it all.
I loved it!
Published: 1951
What a delightful romp! This book was totally addictive. I was so tempted as I was reading to skip ahead to the end- I had to know who the ultimate “winner” was.
We meet Dr. Sandilands, a sweet, kind man who helps out an elderly patient, Mrs. Hovenden. In return for helping her out monetarily, she insists he takes a trunkful of old paintings. On first glance, they look like rubbish. From there, we enter the world of high stakes art. Ruthless art collectors who lie and maneuver to get what they want. This book is a zany art caper of a book. There are characters to root for- Stephanie du Plessis, Dr. Sandilands; and there are characters to despise- Sir Harry and even Beatrice. There is some romance; there is humour; there is suspense- this book has it all.
I loved it!
Published: 1951
October 16, 2023
Brilliant art crime caper that had me rooting for the old guys and hoping the baddies got their comeuppance. Very entertaining.
August 6, 2018
What a delightful book! It's a literate, intriguing (even exciting), vintage (1951) art-crime caper. The characters are well drawn, the insights into human nature are spot-on, and the story clips along at a great pace. (It was also a case of it being the right book at the right time, as it just suited my current mood).
In return for a kind act for an elderly patient, a simple small-town doctor receives some old paintings that he thinks are without value. A local librarian who is an amateur art expert thinks otherwise, so they consult a well-known London art connoisseur (I couldn't help but picture George Sanders in the role). The doctor's daughters (one of whom the jacket copy calls "aggressively stupid," which made me laugh) and a few other locals also get involved.
I was led to this book by the blogger Furrowed Middlebrow, who describes it better than I can: "The story twists and turns like a middlebrow Da Vinci Code, but with far more subtlety, wit, and insight into characters both noble and corrupt, and far less violence.... It's a masterpiece of tight plotting and unexpected machinations."
Yep! Loved it!
In return for a kind act for an elderly patient, a simple small-town doctor receives some old paintings that he thinks are without value. A local librarian who is an amateur art expert thinks otherwise, so they consult a well-known London art connoisseur (I couldn't help but picture George Sanders in the role). The doctor's daughters (one of whom the jacket copy calls "aggressively stupid," which made me laugh) and a few other locals also get involved.
I was led to this book by the blogger Furrowed Middlebrow, who describes it better than I can: "The story twists and turns like a middlebrow Da Vinci Code, but with far more subtlety, wit, and insight into characters both noble and corrupt, and far less violence.... It's a masterpiece of tight plotting and unexpected machinations."
Yep! Loved it!
November 23, 2022
Un "cozy mistery" en el que el delito por el que se desarrolla la trama no es un asesinato, sino una estafa. De estas novelas amables y con toques de humor que dejan un agradable poso.
December 28, 2021
Una novela entretenidísima, que he devorado.
Y aunque en este caso no estamos ante un "murder mistery", porque no hay homicidio, y a lo largo del libro nos va alternando lo que hacen "los buenos" y lo que hacen "los malos", la trama está tan bien llevada, el ritmo es tan ágil y la autora consigue tenerte enganchada, que realmente es imposible soltarlo, para ver finalmente quién se sale con la suya.
Ambientada en un pueblecito costero de la Inglaterra de 1951, seguiremos los quebraderos de cabeza del médico de cabecera del pueblo cuando recibe de una ancianita agradecida y que vive prácticamente en la indigencia (por cierto, este primer capítulo no puede ser más tierno y conmovedor) unos baules que tenía abandonados en el desván, en pago y agradecimiento por lo bien que la cuida. Uno de los baules contiene quince pinturas sobre tabla, que al doctor Sandilands y a su hija mayor Beatrix les parecen un bodrio, pero que una amiga de la familia, la señora Du Plessis, está convencida de que son las pinturas perdidas de Lorenzo El Magnífico. Y a partir de ahí, desde el momento en que un crítico profesional, Sir Harry Maximer, dice que los cuadros no valen nada, mientras que la implacable señora Du Plessis está convencida de que ahí hay "gato encerrado", empieza un lío de dimensiones descomunales, para ver quién se queda con los cuadros... y si realmente valen algo.
Los entresijos del mundo del arte, de las falsificaciones, los museos, los marchantes de arte y los intermediarios, están muy bien detallados, y la ambientación british, los carismáticos personajes (el doctor Sandilands es adorable, Beatrix insoportable y la señora Du Plessis una fuerza de la naturaleza, pero todos los restantes personajes también son inolvidables) y las notas de humor que se van desperdigando, así como lo cuqui que es la historia, han sido el colofón para que disfrutara tanto la trama y me haya decidido por ponerle estas 4 estrellazas, a mi juicio, merecidísimas.
Me ha sorprendido saber que Doris Langley Moore (que tuvo una vida fascinante) no era escritora "profesional" (aunque acabó publicando varias novelas), y fue diseñadora de vestuario de películas como "La reina de África". Sin duda, si se publican más libros de esta autora en castellano, no dudaré en leerlos.
Y aunque en este caso no estamos ante un "murder mistery", porque no hay homicidio, y a lo largo del libro nos va alternando lo que hacen "los buenos" y lo que hacen "los malos", la trama está tan bien llevada, el ritmo es tan ágil y la autora consigue tenerte enganchada, que realmente es imposible soltarlo, para ver finalmente quién se sale con la suya.
Ambientada en un pueblecito costero de la Inglaterra de 1951, seguiremos los quebraderos de cabeza del médico de cabecera del pueblo cuando recibe de una ancianita agradecida y que vive prácticamente en la indigencia (por cierto, este primer capítulo no puede ser más tierno y conmovedor) unos baules que tenía abandonados en el desván, en pago y agradecimiento por lo bien que la cuida. Uno de los baules contiene quince pinturas sobre tabla, que al doctor Sandilands y a su hija mayor Beatrix les parecen un bodrio, pero que una amiga de la familia, la señora Du Plessis, está convencida de que son las pinturas perdidas de Lorenzo El Magnífico. Y a partir de ahí, desde el momento en que un crítico profesional, Sir Harry Maximer, dice que los cuadros no valen nada, mientras que la implacable señora Du Plessis está convencida de que ahí hay "gato encerrado", empieza un lío de dimensiones descomunales, para ver quién se queda con los cuadros... y si realmente valen algo.
Los entresijos del mundo del arte, de las falsificaciones, los museos, los marchantes de arte y los intermediarios, están muy bien detallados, y la ambientación british, los carismáticos personajes (el doctor Sandilands es adorable, Beatrix insoportable y la señora Du Plessis una fuerza de la naturaleza, pero todos los restantes personajes también son inolvidables) y las notas de humor que se van desperdigando, así como lo cuqui que es la historia, han sido el colofón para que disfrutara tanto la trama y me haya decidido por ponerle estas 4 estrellazas, a mi juicio, merecidísimas.
Me ha sorprendido saber que Doris Langley Moore (que tuvo una vida fascinante) no era escritora "profesional" (aunque acabó publicando varias novelas), y fue diseñadora de vestuario de películas como "La reina de África". Sin duda, si se publican más libros de esta autora en castellano, no dudaré en leerlos.
March 21, 2021
A very amusing tale of devious goings on the world of art dealers. An innocent doctor owns some old paintings which may or may not be genuine. Surely a famous and respected art critic can be trusted to give an honest verdict? Or can he? And what possible reason could he have to lie? A complex plot with many twists and turns, a satisfyingly urbane and plausible villain, and a group of daring and enterprising adversaries determined to find out the truth. Great fun.
October 25, 2023
This is a delightful (if somewhat implausible) caper tale, cleverly plotted and very satisfying. According to the biographical notice, the author was an erudite and independent-minded woman, and she certainly does justice to her subject.
Shortly after the end of World War II, kindly Dr. Sandilands visits an elderly widow in straitened circumstances. On impulse he offers to pay her mounting bills so she can afford to hire the assistance she desperately needs. She agrees only if he will take as a gift some trunks from her attic containing items her husband had inherited. Most contain clothing damaged by time and moth and other useless trash, but one large trunk is found to hold sixteen paintings on wood panels. A local librarian cleans them up a bit and becomes excited, thinking they may be connected to the collection of Lorenzo de’ Medici.
She persuades Dr. Sandilands to show them to a famous art critic, who pronounces them to be copies of Old Masters, not worth very much. But the librarian is certain he’s wrong and she starts to do what librarians do—research. Thus begins a complicated tale of move and counter-move by the contending parties.
The story could have been played purely for entertainment, with cardboard characters, but Moore goes deeper. She fully explores the ethical dilemmas faced by all the well-meaning characters, making it harder for them to win the day and even harder for them to see what winning the day would entail. At the center of the story is a remarkably intelligent and capable young woman, and it is a pleasure to watch her in action. In fact, she is not the only clever woman in the story, and I could feel the delight the author derived from placing them at the center of the tale’s inflection points. In the postwar world women were swiftly being returned to the status of ciphers, and it was a pleasure to see an author resisting that trend.
In the end, virtue is rewarded and the wicked are punished in thoroughly satisfying ways, but the complexity of the characters and storyline save it from feeling simplistic. I loved every minute.
Shortly after the end of World War II, kindly Dr. Sandilands visits an elderly widow in straitened circumstances. On impulse he offers to pay her mounting bills so she can afford to hire the assistance she desperately needs. She agrees only if he will take as a gift some trunks from her attic containing items her husband had inherited. Most contain clothing damaged by time and moth and other useless trash, but one large trunk is found to hold sixteen paintings on wood panels. A local librarian cleans them up a bit and becomes excited, thinking they may be connected to the collection of Lorenzo de’ Medici.
She persuades Dr. Sandilands to show them to a famous art critic, who pronounces them to be copies of Old Masters, not worth very much. But the librarian is certain he’s wrong and she starts to do what librarians do—research. Thus begins a complicated tale of move and counter-move by the contending parties.
The story could have been played purely for entertainment, with cardboard characters, but Moore goes deeper. She fully explores the ethical dilemmas faced by all the well-meaning characters, making it harder for them to win the day and even harder for them to see what winning the day would entail. At the center of the story is a remarkably intelligent and capable young woman, and it is a pleasure to watch her in action. In fact, she is not the only clever woman in the story, and I could feel the delight the author derived from placing them at the center of the tale’s inflection points. In the postwar world women were swiftly being returned to the status of ciphers, and it was a pleasure to see an author resisting that trend.
In the end, virtue is rewarded and the wicked are punished in thoroughly satisfying ways, but the complexity of the characters and storyline save it from feeling simplistic. I loved every minute.
May 13, 2021
An Absolute Delight
Reading this book was like feasting on a box of chocolates...pure pleasure, but without the guilt! An absolutely charming tale of an English country doctor who does something impulsively generous for an elderly patient. She rewards him with a seemingly worthless trunk of old paintings. But...are they really worthless?
A battle ensues between rogues who would do anything to defraud the Doctor, and a family friend determined to protect him. A sweet romance, a humorous story about the differing views and goals of family members, and a genuinely suspenseful tale...all without violence or vulgarity. Absolutely marvelous.
Reading this book was like feasting on a box of chocolates...pure pleasure, but without the guilt! An absolutely charming tale of an English country doctor who does something impulsively generous for an elderly patient. She rewards him with a seemingly worthless trunk of old paintings. But...are they really worthless?
A battle ensues between rogues who would do anything to defraud the Doctor, and a family friend determined to protect him. A sweet romance, a humorous story about the differing views and goals of family members, and a genuinely suspenseful tale...all without violence or vulgarity. Absolutely marvelous.
July 17, 2022
Compulsively readable jaunt into the world of fine art. There are characters you love to hate and characters you love to love and everyone deliciously gets what's coming to them. Recommended for any fans of the film 'How to Steal a Million'.
July 25, 2018
I found this book because of a review on the wonderful Furrowed Middlebrow (link). Luckily, the LA library has a wide selection of Doris Langley Moore's books. This was the first I requested.
The plot of this story revolves around a set of paintings that has been gifted to a doctor by an elderly patient as payment for some help he provides. One of the doctor's daughters works at the library for a woman named Stephanie du Plessis, an amateur scholar of art and art history. Stephanie becomes convinced the paintings are lost Italian Renaissance masterpieces. She attempts to convince the doctor and his family of the same by having them examined by an expert, Sir Harry Maximer, who turns out to be an extremely well-respected but shady figure with his own designs on the paintings...
This book took a good while to get going. I was a little bored by the plot in the beginning - but not the characters. Then, once nefarious Sir Harry got involved, I couldn't put the book down. It's the most anxious a book has made me since I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, which was about an actual serial killer.
The characters in this book are either sympathetic and interesting or totally abhorrent, but they're all well-drawn. Everyone gets what they deserve, except - I've knocked off a star for how the end of the book treats Sir Harry's secretary, Mrs. Rose. It seems she's about to get justice, too. And then nothing.
Really worth a read. Not deep, but very entertaining.
The plot of this story revolves around a set of paintings that has been gifted to a doctor by an elderly patient as payment for some help he provides. One of the doctor's daughters works at the library for a woman named Stephanie du Plessis, an amateur scholar of art and art history. Stephanie becomes convinced the paintings are lost Italian Renaissance masterpieces. She attempts to convince the doctor and his family of the same by having them examined by an expert, Sir Harry Maximer, who turns out to be an extremely well-respected but shady figure with his own designs on the paintings...
This book took a good while to get going. I was a little bored by the plot in the beginning - but not the characters. Then, once nefarious Sir Harry got involved, I couldn't put the book down. It's the most anxious a book has made me since I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, which was about an actual serial killer.
The characters in this book are either sympathetic and interesting or totally abhorrent, but they're all well-drawn. Everyone gets what they deserve, except - I've knocked off a star for how the end of the book treats Sir Harry's secretary, Mrs. Rose. It seems she's about to get justice, too. And then nothing.
Really worth a read. Not deep, but very entertaining.
January 15, 2022
Una narración entretenida, amable, en la que la autora arremete contra el negocio del mercado de obras de arte y la caradura que siempre sospechamos que hay detrás.
Tragicomedia de enredo, bien llevada y bien resuelta, con los malos recibiendo su merecido, sin pasarse, y los buenos disfrutando su bien ganada recompensa.
Tragicomedia de enredo, bien llevada y bien resuelta, con los malos recibiendo su merecido, sin pasarse, y los buenos disfrutando su bien ganada recompensa.
January 1, 2025
Una delicia de libro, muy entretenido y bien escrito. Con diálogos interesantes, buenos personajes, no sé, me encontraba constantemente queriendo volver a sus páginas. Qué grata sorpresa. Otro acierto de Rara Avis.
July 26, 2023
Read for a bookclub, and I totally unexpectedly loved it. Just enough edge to be enjoyable, by an author who clearly knew her stuff when it comes to Art History.
January 19, 2023
4/2023
Un médico acepta en pago por sus servicios dieciséis cuadros, no quiere ser maleducado o desagradecido y lo hace "por pura amabilidad"". Su vecina y una de sus hijas le intentan convencer de que a lo mejor tienen un tesoro ante ellos y consultan a un experto que les dice que no, que no valen ni cien libras.
Casualmente, poco después, les hacen una oferta por cien libras. Y todo empieza a oler a chamusquina.
Me ha gustado mucho, hay intriga, hay malos y buenos, giros de guión, venganzas y romance...pues todo fenomenal. Rara Avis siempre dándome alegría.
Un médico acepta en pago por sus servicios dieciséis cuadros, no quiere ser maleducado o desagradecido y lo hace "por pura amabilidad"". Su vecina y una de sus hijas le intentan convencer de que a lo mejor tienen un tesoro ante ellos y consultan a un experto que les dice que no, que no valen ni cien libras.
Casualmente, poco después, les hacen una oferta por cien libras. Y todo empieza a oler a chamusquina.
Me ha gustado mucho, hay intriga, hay malos y buenos, giros de guión, venganzas y romance...pues todo fenomenal. Rara Avis siempre dándome alegría.
January 15, 2020
I quite enjoyed this clever, comedic art caper first published in 1951 and reissued in 2020 by Furrowed Middlebrow and Dean Street Press.
September 30, 2023
Set after WWII, Dr. Sandiland assists an elderly patient financially and she refuses to take the money as a gift. So she gives him a few old chests of Victorian ephemera which has been languishing in her attic for decades. The doctor, who is by no means rich, is castigated by his eldest daughter for being so gullible and declares the stuff useless junk. But a few years later, the local librarian gets a look as some of the oil paintings and thinks they might actually be lost old masters and worth a fortune. In a last ditch effort, the doctor and his daughter take the painting to an expert in London and then…? The plot thickens.
What I liked most about this book is that I had no idea where the plot was going. It was fun to be surprised. There is quite a bit of build until the story really gets underway, but when it does the story sizzles. Read with #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub on Litsy.
What I liked most about this book is that I had no idea where the plot was going. It was fun to be surprised. There is quite a bit of build until the story really gets underway, but when it does the story sizzles. Read with #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub on Litsy.
January 28, 2020
I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book at first, but once it gets going it is very funny and has a fun plot where the "little guys" win. There are moments of snark and some unsympathetic characters, and there is one place where the author has to make sure that we know that a character is foreign and therefore unpleasant, but on the whole, I really enjoyed the book. The scene with the panel about da Vinci was probably unnecessary, but it is a hilarious send-up of the Shakespearean authorship question.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2025
Another great novel from Dean Street Press - they are a godsend for people with my tastes in reading.
There is the same mix of interesting characters - those you hope will win out in the end and those you hope will get their comeuppance. There is a tinge of sadness and pity for the old lady in receipt of the original kindness whose later years could have been much more comfortable but this does not cast a shadow on the story at all.
This story is a bit different from the other Furrowed Middlebrow offerings I have read because it centres around skulduggery.
There is the same mix of interesting characters - those you hope will win out in the end and those you hope will get their comeuppance. There is a tinge of sadness and pity for the old lady in receipt of the original kindness whose later years could have been much more comfortable but this does not cast a shadow on the story at all.
This story is a bit different from the other Furrowed Middlebrow offerings I have read because it centres around skulduggery.
June 3, 2023
4,75 / 5
Me ha encantado!! Hasta después de las primeras 50 páginas no me enganchó, pero después no pude soltar el libro y no paraba de pensar en él constantemente.
Ha sido una lectura muy amable, y me ha encantado lo fluida que es la escritura además del tema de la compra-venta de obras de arte (me ha parecido de lo más interesante).
Si os gustan las novelas inglesas inglesas, este es vuestro libro.
Me ha encantado!! Hasta después de las primeras 50 páginas no me enganchó, pero después no pude soltar el libro y no paraba de pensar en él constantemente.
Ha sido una lectura muy amable, y me ha encantado lo fluida que es la escritura además del tema de la compra-venta de obras de arte (me ha parecido de lo más interesante).
Si os gustan las novelas inglesas inglesas, este es vuestro libro.
January 23, 2021
4.5 Stars
This was a surprisingly well written and enjoyable read. Not at all what I was expecting in the story line, but I loved it!
This is the (fictional) story of the art find of the centuries, and t he attempted cover-up and theft of the collection. I loved the characters. They were believable and compelling, even the "unlikable" ones.
This was a surprisingly well written and enjoyable read. Not at all what I was expecting in the story line, but I loved it!
This is the (fictional) story of the art find of the centuries, and t he attempted cover-up and theft of the collection. I loved the characters. They were believable and compelling, even the "unlikable" ones.
May 26, 2021
Get 50 pages in and you'll be racing through it. I don't know how this writer works this magic, but she makes a tale of a small town Dr and his daughters romp along like a thriller. Everyone gets what's coming, and it totally satisfies.
November 19, 2025
Great old fashioned story. I think folks that like DE Stevenson and Susan Scarlett, also known as Noel Streatfeild would love this book. I'm going to search out more by this author. Sweet tale with a lot of suspense. My heart was beating faster as I madly turned the pages. Highly recommend!
April 23, 2020
Strangely disturbing
This should have been just up my alley but it was very hard for me to get into and to finish. I am not sure why but it made my skin crawl.
This should have been just up my alley but it was very hard for me to get into and to finish. I am not sure why but it made my skin crawl.
August 29, 2021
A charming book. Witty, cultured, tender and well-written.
September 6, 2021
This was a quirky story, kinda of a mystery, but not quite. Kinda a heist, but not quite.
November 23, 2022
A fun story although it felt like it dragged a bit in places.
September 25, 2023
**4.5 Stars**
#FurrowedMiddleBrowClub on Litsy - September 2023
#FurrowedMiddleBrowClub on Litsy - September 2023
October 23, 2023
Delightful! Thank you, Ellen, for recommending.
March 18, 2024
Funny and charming!
September 23, 2024
Un entretenimiento, sin más.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews