Joan Chittister Writer-in-Residence Regina Walton offered sisters a guests a sneak peek at the some of the plot lines and characters in the novel she worked on while living at the monastery for a month this summer. "I loved Masterpiece Mystery when I was young and, after I discovered the Rule of Benedict, my interest in monasticism grew. Then I learned about the beguines, medieval laywomen who lived in community and did good works from the 13th to the 17th centuries. They were not nuns and not wives, and were not approved of by the Catholic Church. And, I love historical fiction so I put it all together and came up with the idea for a murder mystery novel with a Beguine sleuth."

In her presentation, Regina explained that her novel takes place in medieval Bruges, Belgium and her characters are based on real as well as fictional characters. While one of the challenges for writers is the limited historical information about women's lives, many archival sources from medieval Bruges survive, including records of the beguine community. Another challenge for mystery writers who wish to have a female detective in an historical setting is that most women in history did not have the freedom of movement necessary to investigate a crime. Because beguines were economically independent from men, they were not limited in this way. Regina recommends Laura Swan's book, The Wisdom of the Beguines for those who would like to know more.

Regina is a lecturer at Harvard Divinity School and an Episcopal priest. She doesn't yet have a time line for her book. We'll let you know when it's published.