The Mirror of Simple SoulsIn the heart of 14th century Paris, the great beguinage is an enclave under royal protection, where single women can live apart from men. Widowed or unmarried, rich or poor, here they can study, work, and trade in freedom. Ysabel chose to withdraw here twenty years ago. She watches over the hospital and knows all the secrets of plants, nursing bodies as well as souls. For Ada as well, the beguinage is a refuge. Upon the death of her husband, killed in