This story about a group of women on corridor 8 at Oxford university has a great sense of time and place. The depiction of post world war one Oxford and the effect on everyone is really sad.
I did feel it needed a bit more plot to drive it as a historical fiction though.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

'You are historic figures, never forget that. The first women to matriculate at Oxford, the greatest university in the world'.

It's 1920, England, the aftermath of the Great War still lingers yet it is time for celebration, Beatrice, Dora, Otto and Marianne are some of the first women to be officially enrolled at Oxford University. Allocated to the corridor 8 rooms, the women are encouraged to mingle with each other but the daily trial of navigating this male-dominated institution quickly forces them to rely on each other, 'This is not how she imagined Oxford; not as a place where women are mocked and derided for wanting to learn'. As the year progresses, it becomes clear that 'The Eights' have each brought more than a thirst for learning with them, they have secrets that might just hold them back from really achieving.

'The Eights' is an enjoyable story that imagines how the first, matriculated, women students got on at Oxford. The book not only focuses on the strength of female friendship, forged in a male-dominated and somewhat unwelcoming environment but it also highlights the ongoing effects of WW1 on both the town, country and its citizens. I enjoyed Miller's use of mixed media to highlight some of the college rules and articles about lady students to give a greater depth of context. I did find it hard, at times, to keep track of who each character was and what their background story was. However, Miller's endnotes are robust, giving a guide on her research process as well as the many ways a reader can dive deeper into this topic.

'We don't have to prove we deserve to be here anymore. We just have to get on with living'.

Wow! What a year it’s been already for my favourite genre of historical fiction and here is another gem to add to that list!

The Eights is primarily set during the academic year of 1920-21 (with a few “flashback” chapters to give further insight into each of the main characters’ lives): the year Oxford University allowed women to matriculate for the first time in its history and the first year it granted degrees to women.

We meet Otto, Beatrice, Marianne and Dora, who share their university accommodation on Corridor 8 and soon become firm friends and known as ‘the Eights’. The girls all come from different backgrounds, have different personalities but they complement each other beautifully and soon form a firm bond. As we follow them through the academic year, we see their friendship blossom, see the highs and lows of their lives and learn more about who they are, where they have come from and also the secrets they hide. I couldn’t have loved one girl more than the other. They are all wonderful in their own way.

This novel is just stunning. The writing is exceptional and it conjures up that post war era beautifully: both the joy of living and the guilt of survival as well as the scars the First World War left behind. It is also a novel about growing up, about the love of friends helping to accept yourself for who you are and just to make it the perfect read, there is also a little bit of romance. It is one of those books that makes you proud of being a woman, of what women of the past have fought for and achieved so we can have today.

I will be buying the hard copy next week when it’s published: I want to cherish this one on my bookshelf!

Set in Oxford in 1920. Much controversy when the first women were accepted for degrees at Oxford University.
The story follows four very different women, Doris, Beatrice, Otto and Marianne, all with differing reasons as to why they sat the exams for Oxford. They meet at their lodgings on corridor 8 and they soon become the best of friends, supporting each other, though studying for different degrees.
Interesting and fascinating, the author describes life and its difficulties for the four women and the prejudices and extreme rules that they face - they must be chaperoned and must be dressed in a certain way.
Throughout the novel, the author brings in details of the individual women's lives before entering university which brings the characters to life.
A great read. A thoroughly enjoyable historical novel and the author's meticulous research adds to the feeling that I so wanted all of them to succeed.

A thoroughly absorbing book charting the first year of the first women to matriculate at Oxford University in 1920. Each of the four main characters gradually unfurls, as the reader slowly learns their life’s story and how that impacts them.

The narrative sits in the long shadow of the Great War and charts the constant battle for acceptable by male students and dons alike, leaving me both inspired and appalled in equal measure. I was cheering each of the heroines on throughout, and was left wanting very much to know what would happen next…

This is a fantastic read - I was so surprised to find out this a debut novel! The characters really stay with you and the descriptive writing really evokes the times, 1920s at Oxford University- as it finally accepts women and a group of them begin a life long friendship. A great satisfying read

The Eights definitely isnt my usual type of read, but my gosh, I loved spending time with Dora, Otto, Marianne and Beatrice during their first year at Oxford in 1920.
The books follows the four as they embark on their first term and beyond, mixing facts about the inclusion of women into the University as well as the fiction of the characters we follow.
The friendships between the characters were brilliant with ups and downs, and the multiple POV certainly helped me fall in love with each of them.
The throwback chapters interspersed throught really helped to understand each of the women too.
I would call this a quiet book, but I was hooked and I read it with a smile on my face.

The Eights follows four very different young women during their first year at Oxford, while also being among the first female students allowed to study at the prestigious university.
It gave a realistic-feeling portrayal of the era with some great characters and a very well-written storyline.

What a book! I'm bereft to leave The Eights behind. This is so much more than a story about the first women to matriculate at Oxford; it's a beautiful story of female friendship. So honest, raw and moving but also deliciously funny! I'm so sad to say goodbye to them. Even if you don't think this book is for you, give it a go and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I enjoyed the premise of this book and although not based on real people the way the 1920’s were described felt very real. The author clearly did her research.

The pacing felt a little slow and I couldn’t get into this as quickly as I expected to which was a little disappointing.

Overall a decent read and lots that was enjoyable.

This is a beautiful story that is fictional but based on the true figures of change after WW1 when women were finally allowed to study for degrees at Oxford university.
Set in the days both during and after the first world war, the suffrage movement and a period of real change for the whole country (& the world), The Eights are the four women who reside on the eighth corridor; Dora, Marianne, Otto & Beatrice.
This book is amazing, covering both the horrors and deep scars of the war, and the beautiful female friendships forged between four very different but equally brave and admirable characters. It portrays a unique tipping point in time for so many reasons, capturing the attitudes and struggles of this era beautifully.

1920, Oxford England and four very different young women are amongst the first women to join the hallowed halls of Oxford University. On corridor eight of St Hugh's Dora, Beatrice, Marianne and Otto are placed in neighbouring rooms little knowing what a special friendship they would build. Sometime you know you are going to enjoy a book within a few pages and that how I was with this one, it’s clear the author has undertaken meticulous research and it shows.

Briefly, Dora is there to honour the memory of her brother and fiancé who both died during WWI, Beatrice hopes to make her mother notice her, Marianne is from a less wealthy background and wants a better life and Otto needs to prove to herself that she isn’t just a worthless socialite. We follow the women through the trials and tribulations of their first year at St Hugh’s.

I love how much of this book is based on fact, albeit our four ladies are all fictional. It’s still shocks me to think that it took so long, and a World War, for Oxford university to open it doors to women and enable them to matriculate. It’s clear there was still a lot of opposition to this decision, in fact the misogyny was quite open. The rules and regulations that had to follow were strict and Dons were still permitted to refuse them admission to their lectures. I loved all four of the women, despite all opposition, not only from members of the university but also from some of their families, they remained strong, determined and loyal to each other. This was a very enjoyable historical fiction novel and I’ll certainly be looking out for the authors next book.

4.5⭐️

It is 1921 and finally women are able to fully enrol as members of Oxford University. However student life is complicated as the women are required to adhere to a vast number of rules and restrictions, unlike their male counterparts. The rules of the college govern every aspect of their lives including: their dress, behaviour, curfews, compulsory attendance at morning chapel and dinner while living in college. Dons can refuse to admit them to lectures. They must request permission to return home, for trips and outings and are allocated chaperones, even for benign activities such as afternoon tea and a picnic in the park.

Dora, Otto, Beatrice and Marianne are from very diverse backgrounds and have had a range of experiences during the First World War. They are placed in rooms on corridor eight at St Hughes College and despite their differences form a tight friendship group. The Eights follows their first year as students in Oxford, navigating their new friendships, while undertaking intense study alongside burgeoning romance, living with post-war trauma, grief, loss and separation from their families.

The amount of research the author undertook is evident. As an Oxonian I enjoyed descriptions of 1920s Oxford and recognised all of the locations. I wish I could visit The Good Luck Café in Cornmarket street. However, I found the pacing of the story rather slow. I did not find the writing as engrossing as I had hoped. I would have liked more dialogue and to follow the foursome to a greater extent in their day-to-day lives as Oxford students. While the flashbacks helped to shape the characters I felt the contemporary storyline suffered.

I recommend Singled out by Virginia Nicholson, cited in the author’s bibliography for anyone interested in the so-called two million ‘surplus women’, left after the huge number of men killed in World War I.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Firstly, a huge thank you to Netgalley and Joanna for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beatrice, Dora, Marianne and Otto are known as The Eights. In 1920 England, just after the First World War, these ladies are some of the first women ever to matriculate at Oxford University. They form an unlikely friendship, but one that gets them through both difficult and happy times at university.

I found this book really quite wonderful. It was intelligent, empowering and insightful.

I don't usually read books that are character driven, as I prefer something with a juicy storyline (usually gothic mysteries, thrillers, etc). However, I am always interested in learning more about women's history, female empowerment and similar topics!

The four main characters have been crafted well and I felt as though I really got to know them. The way Joanna writes really draws you in, so I felt a part of their world. I also really appreciated the ending - I couldn't stop smiling!

Typically this wouldn't be a 5-star read for me, but I knocked off half a star because between 50 and 70% of the book I did feel a bit bored. It was slow and I was struggling to stay interested in their stories. However, this is entirely on me because I'm not used to stories like this.

I wish Joanna every success with The Eights and would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in historical fiction, women's fiction, academic and British history.

Although women had been able to study at Oxford University since the 19th century, October 1920 marked the first time they were able to matriculate (or be formally admitted). In her new novel, The Eights, Joanne Miller imagines the stories of four fictional women who were part of this historic moment.

Beatrice Sparks, Theodora Greenwood, Marianne Grey and Ottoline Wallace-Kerr refer to themselves as the Eights because they occupy the four rooms on corridor eight of St Hugh’s, one of the Oxford colleges that is admitting female students. They also each have a name with eight letters, something which pleases Otto, who is a mathematician and loves the number eight. Otto’s family and friends, who are wealthy socialites, are surprised by her decision to study for a degree rather than concentrate on making a good marriage, but Otto is desperate to prove herself after feeling that she failed as a VAD nurse during the war.

Beatrice is the daughter of a suffragette and has grown up in the shadow of her formidable, overbearing mother. For her, university means independence, freedom and a chance to lead her own life at last. Theodora – known as Dora – is also grateful for the opportunity she has been given, but at the same time she feels a sense of guilt knowing that her brother, who was killed in the war, was supposed to be the one to go to Oxford. Dora also lost her fiancé in the war and she’s still struggling to come to terms with both tragedies. The final member of the Eights is Marianne, the quiet, clever daughter of a widowed vicar. Marianne seems to have led a sheltered life compared to some of the other girls at St Hugh’s, but she has a secret that she’s determined to keep hidden.

The Eights describes the experiences of these four young women during their first year at Oxford. There’s not really an overarching plot – more a series of episodes – but I didn’t have a problem with that as I was so absorbed in the lives of the four main characters. My favourite was probably Marianne, but I liked and admired all of them and enjoyed watching their friendships develop over the course of the year. The women all face a different set of challenges and struggle with self-doubt – about fitting in, coping with the work or living up to expectations – and it was good to see them grow in confidence and overcome some of the obstacles in their way. I liked the use of flashbacks to provide background information about each woman and the very different paths they followed that led them to Oxford.

Obviously I wasn’t at Oxford in 1920, so I have no idea how accurate the book is – all I can say is that the setting feels very authentic and it’s clear that Joanna Miller has done her research. She weaves historical detail throughout the novel, often beginning chapters with a real newspaper excerpt or a set of university rules and regulations (which illustrate the double standards in the way male and female students were treated). There’s a glossary at the end, as some readers may be unfamiliar with the academic terms used in the book, many of which are unique to Oxford. There are also some cameo appearances from real-life authors Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby, who are attending Somerville College, one of Oxford’s other women’s colleges.

My only real criticism is that I found Marianne’s secret far too easy to guess and would have preferred to have been surprised by it, like the other students were. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and loved getting to know the Eights. It would be good to meet them again when they return for their second year at Oxford!

Joanna Miller’s The Eights is a captivating and heartfelt debut novel that shines a light on the lives of four pioneering women who were among the first to matriculate at Oxford University in 1920. Set against the backdrop of a world still reeling from the aftermath of the First World War, this story is a poignant exploration of friendship, resilience, and the fight for self-determination.

The novel follows Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto—collectively known as The Eights—as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of being among the first female students at Oxford. Each woman brings her own unique background and aspirations to the group, creating a dynamic and richly textured narrative. Dora, who lost both her brother and fiancé in the war, seeks solace and purpose in her studies. Beatrice, the politically-minded daughter of a suffragette, is determined to carve out her own path. Otto, a former nurse, hopes to reclaim her socialite lifestyle and escape the haunting memories of the war. And Marianne, the quiet and clever daughter of a village pastor, harbours a secret that could change everything.

Miller’s writing is both elegant and evocative, capturing the spirit of the early 20th century with meticulous detail. The novel’s exploration of themes like sisterhood, courage, and the struggle for equality is both timely and timeless. The friendship between the four women is the heart of the story, their bond providing a source of strength and support as they face the misogyny, societal expectations, and personal challenges of their time.

The historical setting is vividly rendered, from the dreaming spires of Oxford to the lingering shadows of the Great War and the threat of influenza. Miller’s characters are richly drawn, their individual journeys and collective experiences offering a nuanced and deeply moving portrait of a pivotal moment in history.

The Eights is a story of hope, resilience, and the enduring power of friendship.

This was a great read and I enjoyed it very much. It is the story about women being accepted to study degrees at Oxford University in 1920. The author thoroughly captured the essence of the time and it was very thought provoking. The freedom nowadays for women to attend university is taken for granted even at Oxford if they are clever enough. However in those days they encountered all sorts of prejudices especially from the male dons and undergraduates and the rules they had to comply with were totally absurd to today’s generation.
The four women living on the 8th corridor at St Hugh’s all have their own individual struggles and secrets set against this backdrop and it was a gripping novel that I didn’t want to put down wanting to know what happened next.
Thank you to the publisher and net galley for an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I actually enjoyed reading it, but at the same time was expecting... more? Don't get me wrong, I loved reading about the Eights, their friendships and hardships that shaped them into who they were, think the historical part of the book was greatly portrayed, but it seems like there was some story left to tell?

I would still suggest this as a cozy read for someone thinking about picking up this book, but I feel like we stopped right in the middle of the story. An interesting debut novel, nonetheless.

1920 women at Oxford receive degrees.
What a marvellous story about women striving to be recognised and the after effects of WW1.
Four women with very different backgrounds are thrown together in the halls of residence. Dora who is mourning the death of her brother George and her fiance Charles, she has come to Oxford in place of her dead brother. Beatrice a very tall, imposing woman who is the daughter of a famous Suffragette , Marianne, the daughter of a Vicar is secretive and emotional, Otto is a rich girl with an exciting social life and a ready wit.
Although from different backgrounds the girls are thrown together as they must battle against the men who torment and belittle them. Most of the time they can defend themselves but as lecturers sometimes bar them from lectures it can be a struggle, if they with to leave the university they must be accompanied by a guardian and fraternising with the opposite sex is carefully monitored.
The injuries and death of soldiers in the war is relived in all of the girl's past lives. The war is vividly bought to life as disabled and shell shocked students react to sudden noises. Spanish flu arrives on the campus and Marianne catches it, she is nursed by the other three and can finally visit her Father. Dora has a shock when she recognises someone in a lecture leading to a breakdown.The friendship and support of the group is heartening.
All of the women keep secrets which are eventually exposed.
The authors love of Oxford and her descriptions are engaging.
Thank you Joanna, NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC

I LOVED this and I can tell it’s one where I’m going to be thinking about the characters for some time to come. It was beautifully written and the research must have taken some time. I couldn’t believe, when I read the afterword, just how long it took to reach anything close to equality at Oxbridge. I thought each character’s story was fascinating and the writing was very clever as we dipped back to during the war to find out about what had happened before they reached their corridor in St Hughes. Utterly fabulous and I’ll be recommending it to everyone!