Set in a beguinage in Paris in the early 1300s, this tells the story of a manuscript 'The Mirror of Simple Souls'. I enjoy historical fiction and this is an era that I know little about. I loved this book and learned a lot about the women who lived as free women, not quite nuns, not quite secular.

Medieval beguinages were establishments where women sought peace and tranquillity away from the interferences of men … and yet, it was not to be. Interesting!

2023 is a year of rediscovering dear Reader, this year I have rediscovered my love of history and historical fiction. The historical fiction books I have read this year have all inspired me to do further research into the subjects mentioned in the books.
The Mirror of Simple Souls is no different, although I wasn’t completely blindsided by this book as I knew about the templar knights and the limited choices for women’s occupations. Until I read this book, I knew nothing about the beguines, my previous knowledge thought that the only choice for women in the time period was being wives, nuns or prostitutes (Don’t look at me like that, it’s the oldest profession in the world).
Aline Kiner has created an insightful historical novel set-in 14th century Paris. This book does a wonderful job shining a spotlight on the great beguinage, an exclusive community for single women that was under royal protection. The women who ended up in the beguines didn’t follow the path that was expected of them at the time. My understanding is that a the great beguinage was like a convent, but the women didn’t have to take vows and unlike nuns, the beguines were free to retain property and their own affairs.
I might have blinkers on dear Reader, but I have found it hard to find novels set in the Middle Ages that isn’t focused just on royalty and political aspects of the time. This book investigates the ordinary lives of women who joined the beguines, and I loved every second of it.
The streets of Paris came to life in this book as the story unfolded. Aline effortlessly combined fiction with real events of The Templars and Marguerite Porete who was burned at the stake for heresy. I found it hard to put this book down as I felt invest in the women’s stories. This book is a great read for anyone who loves historical fiction.

Based on Marguerite Porete’s banned book about divine love, Kiner relates the story of a beguinage in Paris 1310, where independent women live in a communal setting and come and go into the world outside the walls. When a bedraggled red-headed girl arrives at the gate, Ysabel, the elderly beguine hospitaller, becomes overly attached and prolongs the girl’s stay, when she should be sent back to her family. Instead, Ysabel houses her with a friend who runs a silk house. Even with efforts to disguise the girl’s ??? red hair, she is recognised by a Franciscan monk determined to force her back to her abusive husband, but instead, he extracts a promise from a young beguine to translate the banned book.
The red-headed girl, Maheut’s, arrival is the catalyst for the events that unfold, but the story centres more on Ysabel, the Francisan and the beguine translator. The background for Kiner’s tale incorporates the executions of Marguerite and many Templar Knights, in a time of great religious upheaval, when the beguine life came under suspicion and the women lived in fear that the clerics would renounce their protection. This literary narrative is laden with beautiful expressions of love, friendship and loyalty within the beguinage, whilst giving readers a strong impression of daily life in medieval Paris, as the comfort within the walls gives way to a more dangerous spectrum of life outside. A poignant and emotive tale of female independence and faith.

French journalist and novelist Aline Kiner has crafted an insightful historical novel set in 14th century Paris. It shines the spotlight on the great beguinage, an exclusive community under royal protection, where single women - widowed or unmarried, rich or poor - could live apart from men and in which they could study, work or trade in freedom.

For Ysabel and Ade, the novel’s main characters, the beguinage is a place of refuge and tranquillity. Withdrawn but happy, their haven was soon disrupted when Maheut, a red-haired rebellious girl, arrives at the door seeking refuge, having fled from a cruel marriage. Her arrival brings unwanted attention from a sinister Franciscan monk named Humbert, who has been tasked with tracking her down to bring her home.

Unwittingly, Humbert and Ade will set in motion a chain of events that will alter the fabric of the beguinage forever, and all this has to do with the early writings of Marguerite Porete, a French speaking mystic, whose unconventional ideas of God and divine love put her in the crosshairs of the Church. She was charged with heresy and executed in 1310.

What I like about the storyline is that it centres not on the lives not of royalty or nobility, but of ordinary women, who live in a close community, helping and caring for one another. There is much that one can learn about their unencumbered lives of doing good and quiet reflection on the Scriptures.

This is indeed a beautiful piece of writing about the French mediaeval world, a milieu that I knew nothing about. I’m glad I read it.

I got this free ARC from Netgalley. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

The Mirror of Simple Souls is a historical fiction novel set in Medieval France.
I really enjoyed reading about the beguines and their everyday lives as I had never heard about them before.
The plot dragged for a bit and some characters felt one dimensional. But other than that it was an interesting story.

Paris 1310 and the city is aflame with vengeance. The king wants to avenge himself against the Templars and heretics are being persecuted. A sister from Hainault in the north appears in Paris accused of writing a heretical book and is condemned to die at the stake. In a quieter corner of the city live the Beguines, neither Nuns nor working women they are afforded protection and their compound is a sanctuary for women who struggle to find a place in society. Arriving here is Maheut, escaping an abusive marriage, and pregnant with her husband's child. He has sent a monk to find Maheut but he wants something else from the Beguines and that might save the girl.
The Mirror of Simple Souls is actually a real book written by Marguerite Porete in the 14th Century and condemned as heretical. This is the starting point of this novel of love and vengeance set in an unorthodox community which, again, is based in reality. I loved the language of the novel as well as the plot and the translation is very good.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

The title of the book takes its inspiration from a medieval work on Divine Love written by Marguerite Porete who was burned at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310. Set against the background of medieval Paris and with its focus on those women who chose to spend their lives in contemplation, safely ensconced behind the walls of the Beguinage of Paris, we meet Ysabel, the infirmiere, who tends her garden, nurturing both the soil, and her patients as tenderly as children.

When Maheut, an emotionally damaged girl, arrives at the beguinage, Ysabel is determined to help this red-haired young woman whose secrets lie hidden however, there is a sinister Franciscan monk seeking her who also wants information. Caught up in those who seek the whereabouts of this mysterious young woman, The Mirror of Simple Souls shines a spotlight on a dangerous period in French history and of both the strength, and vulnerabilities, of women living during this difficult time of religious persecution.

Beautifully written, and sensitively translated, from its original French the medieval world comes vibrantly alive. Whilst I knew a little about the role of the beguinage in medieval Europe, it has been fascinating to discover more about this lifestyle choice and of the women who took no holy orders and yet who lived their lives in quiet contemplation.

The story takes place between 1310 and 1317, during the final years of the béguinages of the middle ages. But the story is so vividly told that it feels immediate, even quite contemporary.

The Mirror of Simple Souls recounts events happening in and around one of the last royal béguinages, in Paris. These communities housed independent women, neither fully civilian nor religious, but hardworking, educated, pious and reclusive, (comparatively) free of male control. They are free to decide for themselves whether they will live a life of work or contemplation, whether they will focus on study or devote themselves to serving the community. At the height of the Inquisition, these women are a thorn in the side of the Church and of male authority in general.

King Philippe le Bel has just burned Templars at the stake and abolished the order. In March 1314, Pope Clement V publishes the decrees of the Council of Vienna against the beguines, condemning their way of life, their dress, the links they have with certain brothers. They are accused of pretending to be pious so that they can manage their own property and fortune. They are said to be heretics, disobedient to the church.

The novel wears its erudition lightly, and the tone is soft, dare I say 'womanly', in the very best sense. We are pulled into the day to day domestic life of the béguines, both within the walls of the béguinage and outside in the busy streets of Paris. Several of the characters are wise, generous and kindly, aware of how lucky they are to be strong and free, and of how fragile that status is. They protect each other. Given the horrifying way in which strands of modern society are veering towards authoritarianism and suppression of women's rights, the struggles of the béguines feel very real and current.

It is hard to find good historical novels set in the middle ages that focus on ordinary lives - especially women's lives - rather than on royalty and political (mostly male) power struggles. This is a refreshing exception.

The Mirror of Simple Souls is a book written by Marguerite Porete, a mystic burned at stake as heretic.
She's one of the characters of this book, an excellent historical fiction set at begining of XV century.
It mixes fiction and history, features strong and intriguing characters, and i loved the storytelling and the great story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This was a very interesting historical fiction focusing on an area that had been completely unknown to me previously; that of the beguines of Paris, in the medieval period of around 1310. The beguines are a community of relatively free women - these are women who have chosen neither to marry or enter a convent, which would usually have been the only choices available - unlike nuns, the beguines are free to retain property and their own affairs. But the religious persecution of the era is ramping up, with the order of the Templars being scrutinised and worrying signs for the beguines as well. The book follows several of the women in and around the beguinage, most notably Ysabel, who is a healer and wise woman of sorts, Ade, a gentle and quiet member of the beguinage who teaches some of the younger members, and Maheut, a red-headed noblewoman who has sought shelter at the beguinage after running away from her husband. Ysabel and Ade help Maheut, but this brings them into the orbit of a Franciscan monk named Humbert, who himself will unwittingly connect them to much more dangerous political currents and has repercussions for the whole beguine way of life. I thought the book was cleverly structured between the personal and the wider currents of the times, with an intriguing plot, although at times I felt like it skipped about a bit too much. The characters are particularly well painted, with many complex motives and passions pushing them into situations, and I liked that it shed light on such an obscure and forgotten corner of history - the royal beguinage in Paris where all of the action takes place has been almost entirely forgotten, but the postscript at the end gives some interesting insight about how the topic has resurfaced.

My thanks to #NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel which told the story of a community of women, the beguines, who were able to live, work, learn and pray within the safety of the beguinages under royal protection in medieval France. Times were harsh for women who had the choice of marriage or a live devoted to God in a convent, until King Louis IX founded the Royal Beguinage, a safe sanctuary for women. One day a young girl is found on the doorstep seeking safety and obviously having suffered great cruelty. The beguines take her into their care and thus begins the story of Maheut, the girl, and Ysabel the infirmerer who cares for her.

The strength of the community amongst the women, their friendships, loyalties and ultimately betrayals is incredibly powerful. The depth of research that has gone into understanding the beguines and the way of life in medieval Paris is incredible, both by the author Aline Kiner and then by the translator in order to understand the original text. It was a period of great turmoil and cruelty, full of crusades and power battles between the Pope and the Kings of France and Europe. The streets of Paris really did come to life amongst the pages for me. I found myself constantly picking up the book, so invested was I in the women’s stories. A fascinating period of history that I now feel I have a much greater understanding of.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-arc in exchange for a review.

This is a beautifully written fictional story surrounding real events in 14th century Paris, providing a vivid insight into the lives of the women of the Great Beguinage, “an oasis in the heart of the city”. For almost a hundred years widowed or unmarried women were able to live, work, pray and study, free from the control of men, free from marriage and the nun’s cloister, under royal protection. This follows the lives of several beguines living in and outside of the beguinage. Ysabel finds a young woman on the doorstep of the beguinage seeking refuge after escaping her cruel husband and from here the story unfolds mingling with the real events of The Templars, the King of France and Marguerite Porete, the mystic and author of The Mirror of Simple Souls who was burned at the stake for heresy.

The level of historical detail used to create this picture of Parisian life in the Middle Ages, a thronging city full of religious life and trade, is phenomenal and for those who appreciate history and the stories of the women who came before us, this is a great read. This time seems far away but there are comparisons to be drawn from the fears and desires of these women in the 14th century and now, drawing it closer than it seemed before. “Outside these walls, the world is harsh for women. We must be bound to one another.”

Feminism and religion!

The day to day intimacy of a "Béguines" community in Paris at the beginning of the 14th century. A colorful fictional tapestry beautifully presented and blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters. This literary accomplishment is also a stunning portrait of urban life and customs in medieval France.

Highly recommended and to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Pushkin Press and Netgalley for this terrific ARC!