Oh dear, what a disappointment.
I had high hopes for this debut novel from Miller. The story is about the first women to be admitted to Oxford University but it feels as we’ve been catapulted into a history lesson and the characters are almost shoe horned in.

There is no doubt that a huge amount of research has been undertaken, but the novel ‘educates’ us at every opportunity, with facts thrown at us from all directions, mostly at the expense of the narrative. If someone is walking down a road or entering a building we are pulled out of the story by ‘interesting facts’ about the place/architecture/famous person. There’s even a glossary of terms and key dates at the end.

I found the pacing painfully slow, probably because we see the world from each perspective of the four main characters one after the other. And when the inciting incident is that one of the four is pushed to the ground by a drunken fresher I did wonder how much more exciting it could get. Not a lot, it turns out.

Out of the four main women, I could not distinguish between Marianne and Dora and had to keep checking back to remind myself which one was the rector’s daughter and which one had lost her brother and fiancé in the War.
Otto and Beatrice are larger than life but become almost caricatures of ‘women of their time’. Otto, a socialite and Beatrice, the daughter of a suffragette (who’s most distinguishing feature is her six foot frame), are both there because of the relationships they have with their mothers.

Yes, the women have to battle against misogyny and the horrors lingering from the Great War, but Miller has decided to do this with buttered scones and glasses of champagne, or cocktails on the river and the odd flirt with the men from other colleges.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

A wonderful story that follows the first women to study at university in Oxford during the WW2 period. Historical fiction fans are in for a treat with this one!

I'm so impressed that this is Joanna Miller's debut novel. It's a well written, well researched book about a topic that I personally found fascinating. I mean, who doesn't love some strong female main characters? 💪

SPOILER:

The only reason it lost a star for me is because I'm personally just not a big fan of the accidental/surprise pregnancy trope. I didn't feel like it added a huge deal to the story. Having said that, that's one tiny part of the book and I absolutely loved the rest of it.

The Eights’ is a meticulously researched tale focusing on four young women who are accepted as the first female undergraduates at St Hilda’s, Oxford after the first World War. Beatrice, Otto, Marianne and Dora all carry emotional burdens, much like everyone in the country after 1918 and, over the course of the novel, Joanna Miller reveals these one at a time.
For anyone interested in the history of female emancipation, this is likely to be a fascinating read. Whilst many people will know the broad brushstrokes of this time and place, few will be aware of the insanely petty rules and regulations that women undergraduates had to abide by if they were not to be sent down. Different times!
Joanna Miller succeeds in creating four very different central characters who suffer only a little from encapsulating different aspects of a woman’s lot at the time. Revelations about past sufferings and current aspirations are paced throughout the novel and through these we remain engaged. Miller also guides the reader to appreciate the pressure that women are under, not that this signposting is really necessary. For example, English Literature student Dora complains, ‘Why is it that women must suppress the feelings that are inconvenient or threatening to men? Their natural anger, grief and rage. Why in literature do they kill themselves or get locked in asylums, attics, prisons, hotel rooms?’
At the end of the novel, Otto understands that, ‘Most of us are ordinary people grasping the opportunity of an extraordinary education – and that goes for the men too.’ Well, up to a point depending on one’s definition of ‘’ordinary’. Ordinary working-class people will have to wait many decades to fully grasp that chance.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK, Figtree for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I loved this book. A hugely entertaining and brilliant-written novel which gives us not one, not two but four incredible female characters to root for. Meticulously researched and impeccably crafted. An entirely delightful debut.

Joanne Miller’s The Eight begins with an intriguing premise that immediately drew me in, hinting at a story rich with potential. Unfortunately, the slow pacing soon became an obstacle, making it difficult to sustain the initial excitement. Additionally, the narrative frequently shifts from one character to another from the start, creating a fragmented experience that made it hard to fully connect with any single plotline. While the concept itself was promising, the execution fell short, lacking the cohesive and engaging flow needed to bring the story to life.

Warm, engaging and well-researched, this is the story of four young women among the first intake of Oxford women students eligible to get degrees from the university. The four women, who become friends after finding themselves living on the same corridor, are from different backgrounds and face different challenges and prejudices as they navigate their student years. Each one has their own drama to face and the book ends with the reader wanting to know more about what happens next.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

1920, Oxford, and the university is admitting its first female students.

The male academics are not exactly united in their eagerness to welcome women. From tutors and students alike there is eye-rolling, smirking, and a list of objections as long as it is self-contradictory.

The staff of the women’s colleges are well aware of the scrutiny under which they and their charges will fall. Regardless of individual achievement they will be seen as women before anything else, and must work twice as hard as men to earn half the respect.

The weight of the recent war hangs heavy over the university. The sense of national mourning is such that any celebration of women’s admittance can only, as when the vote was won by women two years earlier, be muted in a solemn sobriety.

Four young women of the new intake, Dora, Beatrice, Marianne, and Ottoline, move into rooms on Corridior Eight of St Hugh’s college fizzing with excitement and apprehension. From very different walks of life, they each have their reasons for coming to Oxford, and must consider their troubled pasts and uncertain futures. Unlikely to have mixed in their lives outside of college, their proximity breeds an unexpected and rich friendship.

This is such an enjoyable and inspiring book. Oxford of the early 1920s is brought vividly to life, convincingly unsettled and uncertain, clinging to its history in a time of change. The young men and women of this time have been through all shades of hell, and Miller doesn’t shy away from any of the horrors, though she finds enough light and air in her story to fill with hope, joy, and the promise of change for the better. I loved how she wove real people and events into her story*, and I learned a lot while being swept along by her wonderful, compelling, characters.

Moving, witty, and written with an eloquent zest, this is a book of potent charm.

*mansplaining quibble: the phrase Stone Tape Theory was coined some 50 years after the events of this book.

I love a mid-century based book especially one focusing on the lives of women navigating and driving change and The Eights is an absolute delight bringing to vivd life the experiences of women fighting to be taken seriously as students straight after the First World War.

It is 1920. Men have returned home although many still bear the physical and mental scars of their time in the trenches, women have relinquished their jobs back to the returning soldiers but in return some have gained the vote, and the youngest adults have emerged from their schools into a different world to those of their older siblings. Oxford has had women students and colleges for some time now but separate not part of the illustrious university and this is the first year women students are allowed to matriculate. Among those students are Dora, Marianne, Otto and Beatrice, arriving at St Hugh's with vastly different hopes, dreams and experiences. Dora is still mourning the brother and fiance who should both have returned to their studies in Oxford, tall, awkward Beatrice is struggling to find her confidence and escape from the overbearing shadow of her formidable pioneeing mother, Otto is haunted by her experiences as a VAD, needing to prove that she is more than a party girl whose only role is to marry well and Marianne has well buried secrets she can't share even with her closest friends.

The Eights takes us through the four friends first year as they navigate onerous rules, double standards, hostile lecturers and male students. The book is filled with historical detail but wears its research lightly, entertaining as it educates, the author's love for the city, the traditions of the university and her subject shining through. An absorbing and enjoyable read, I loved it.

I loved this book on so many levels. The historical detail was wonderful and I really liked that so much was based on real people and events. It was fascinating to understand more about what life was like for female scholars in 1920, and I was completely swept up in the storylines of all four of the main characters. A wonderful read and a story I didn't want to end.

Well written, and fascinating, debut novel about some of the first female undergraduates at Oxford. Four women of different backgrounds, experiences - especially during World War One - share the 8th corridor, hence the name. The book chronologically follows the women through their first year, with some flashbacks. It chronicles the highs, lows, fears, disappointments they experience. This should definitely top of your TBR pile; you won't be disappointed.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Fig Tree for an ARC.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review**

The synopsis of this one had me requesting it very quickly. Historical Fiction based on the true story of the first women undergraduates at Oxford? Sign me up!

Great characters facing believable challenges in a time of huge changes, post-WW1. Navigating losses and family commitments along with the pressure of not letting an entire gender down. Women were most definitely not wanted in Oxford by many and you could feel the weight of responsibilities on these women.

As somone who lives relatively locally, I loved reading the descriptions of Oxford and recognising the buildings and streets. It was really interesting to consider how little has changed in the last 100 years.

A captivating read.

The Eights is a book that will stay with you for a very long time. Set in the aftermath of WW1, this is so much more than the telling of women finally being allowed to study for a degree at Oxford University. It is about a country forever changed by loss and trauma. About the survivors, both male and female, of a devastaing war that was supposed to end all wars. Recognising the impact on the women of WW1 was an additonal dimension that added so much to tthe book. Jo0anna Miller's research was amazing - I was there in 1920, on the bridges, on the lawns and in the library.
It almost goes without saying that I adored the four female students on Corridor Eight of St Hughs, an all female college. They are all so different, all so likeable, all so damaged but strong. I honestly couldn't pick a favourite. I love a book about female friendship, about a turning point in history, and about women suvceeding against the odds. The Eights had in all in spades. When I came to the last page I wanted to go back and read it all again.
If you have a book club you MUST pick this book. There is so much to discuss. II promise that you will not regret it. (And you can thank me later.)
Five massive fat stars from me. * * * * * (Wish I could give it six!)

Beautifully written, fantastic characters. It's Geeks in the City, the City of Dreaming Spires. I loved Otto!

My favorite kind of historical fiction, completely engrossing on a character level, with a transportive setting, literary writing and a feminist bent. I can't wait to see what Joanna Miller writes next!

A well written book with some parts I found really engaging. Unfortunately, the pacing felt off and the plot moved too slowly and I felt like, at points, I was dragging myself through to the end.

As a graduate of the Open University, I was interested in reading this ( albeit fictional) account of women at university. Oxford just after the First World War is the setting, four women from very differing backgrounds arrive amidst great publicity. Women had not been admitted to Oxford before this time. The story tells of each character’s journey to get there and their response to the reality of studying in a male dominated environment. Slowly, the reader learns the secrets they all hold. I really liked the book. The four main characters develop as individuals and as a group. There is enough historical detail regarding the war, class and society to generate a feeling of sympathy for the men who returned , broken in body and spirit and for the women whose lives were changed drastically. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ebook ARC.

The Eights is a novel that I’ve been so excited about and so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read.
However this is another ARC that is unreadable for me due to the formatting which includes a number on almost every other line. I have some visual issues which impact my focusing and so was sadly unable to continue reading.
I’d love to read if reformatting is possible or I will purchase my own copy on publication.
Many thanks for the opportunity to read.

Ohh I was soooooooo excited for this one but I couldn't get past the formatting. I know it's an ARC but having a number in every other sentence made it too clunky to read :-(

I adored this book from the very first page - and didn't lose that love for a minute all the way through!
The Eights is the story of 4 young women who are among the first women to study at the University of Oxford in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. There is wealthy socialite Otto, who knows she is more than someone's trophy wife, and is a super bright mathematician. There is Marianne, daughter of a widowed vicar who arrives at Oxford on a scholarship. There is Beatrice, whose own mother is a prominent force in the women's suffragette movement. And then there is Dora, suffering the double heartbreak of losing both her brother and her fiance in the War.
Together they form a really strong bond as they battle through the male dominated university, trying to adhere to rules and regulations that of course seem preposterous now, but are all based on historical fact.
Could not love these 4 women more!

This novel tells us the story of eight of the first cohort of women to be formally enrolled in Oxford University to do a degree
I found the detail of Oxford University at this time fascinating particularly the differences that women and men faced whilst doing their undergraduate studies in the 1920s
The list of what the women had to do to avoid the men was particularly interesting and seemed primarily to involve avoiding the man as much as possible and not upsetting the male undergraduate experience of university life.
It must’ve been really gauling for the young women seeing the relative freedom of the men had to go out their daily life compared with the rigidity of the rules that applied to women only.
I’ve read quite a lot of novels set an time of suffragettes. This is the first time I have read anything set just afterwards with the daughters of the original suffragettes now seeing signs of female liberation.
Throughout the novel there are mentions of writers writing novels and poems at the time ,as somebody who mostly reads new novels it intrigued me to think that I could have been reading Agatha Christie or other novels of the time made me think who among the authors that I am fond of now will become in time classics


Is quite a lot of formatting error with this with multiple numbers appearing on every page on NetGalley mixed up with the text I persevered with the story as I was interested in the characters
The author has a easily red writing style and the novel was an enjoyable read
She describes the individual girls characters succinctly and precisely and do you feel like they are real people
I read an only copy on NetGalley UK. The book was published in the UK march 2025 by Penguin General UK
This review will appear on Goodreads, NetGalley UK, and my book blog bionicsarahsbooks.wordpress.com. It will also appear on Amazon UK.