This is a luminous novel about some of the first women allowed to receive degrees at Oxford. They face misogyny, disease and the dark shadow of the war as well as their own secrets and struggles but their close friendship and their courage and resilience sees them triumph in this beautiful city of ‘dreaming spires’. It’s a fine addition to a long list of university novels.

Heartbroken Dora yearns for her fiancee who was killed in the war. Flirtatious and beautiful, Otto, born with a silver spoon in her mouth, longs for luxury. Beatrice lacks confidence, partly because she can never live up to her suffragette mother, and Marianne hides a secret.

Beautifully written with some interesting real characters and snippets of history, this is a keeper!

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for a free ebook.

I couldn't get into this book unfortunately which is a huge shame because the cover is excellent and I loved the premise. I DNF at 16% so it wouldn't be fair of me to leave a full review.

The Eights has a direct ticket to being one of my favourite reads of 2025.

Historical fiction often intimidates me, but Joanna Miller’s tale of unlikely friendships amongst the first female class in Oxford, was nothing short of a page-turner.

The characters stories were so beautifully carved, each facing their own individual challenges, all weaved together with the most beautiful writing. I came to love each of these women as if they were friends or sisters of my own.

Miller’s story is so fascinating, and I just could not put it down. But above all, this story reminded me of the power of female friendships. A 5-star moving read

Set in Oxford University following WW1, The Eights tells the story of four of the women that were finally granted access to achieve degrees in this historic institution. The debates on women gaining the vote, the women's suffrage movement, and the role of women are plentiful throughout the book but somehow I wish there was more. The boating competition, the debate on women attending Oxford, and the queen receiving an honorary degree seemed to be politely brushed over when I felt (especially with the boat competition) that these moments could have been fleshed out more- despite there being so much information in the book on these women and how differently they were treated to the men, I wanted to read more about their triumphs and rule-breaking.

I did however appreciate how this didn't become a novel overwhelmed with romance and how it very much centred on the women and the new conversations on women's rights emerging. I loved all the characters we follow in the book with my favourite being Otto, an eccentric and outgoing woman with the ability to flirt without the desire to marry. Overall, the characters were well-developed and each had their own story to tell and unravel with the result being a sweet ending and hope for the future following a traumatic war. That being said, I would have loved to know more about the ambitions of the women going forward. It is written what they plan to do but in a way that felt like the credits of a movie. Where the research of the book is impeccable and the depiction of Oxford during the time immaculate, maybe it was too polished? I am between two mindsets with this book where some chapters were brilliant and addictive (mostly those that proved the characters' tight friendship) and others that felt like fillers just so every week of their studies could be included.
Overall, it was a lovely read and I learned so much history and I always love a book about female friendship which this novel had plenty of.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book and the chance to write a review on it!

This is a fabulous book about a group of women who are the first admitted to study at Oxford after the First World War. Each has their reasons for wanting to be there, to be pioneers in a new world, and we read their stories and get to know their secrets as they build strong relationships with each other.
I loved learning about how these women paved the way for others, and about the restrictions placed on them as women in such a male environment. I loved the interweaving of real figures from history alongside the fictional heroines. I grew to love these brave women, particularly admiring Otto, who is feisty and fun.
Great storytelling and really moving. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

It’s 1920 and Oxford University has finally allowed women to fully attend for the first time. Amongst those pioneering female students are the Eights, an unlikely group of friends. Dora is still mourning the loss of her brother and fiancé in the Great War. Otto is a seemingly carefree socialite but her memories of wartime nursing haunt her. While Beatrice’s mother is a celebrated suffragette, she is hoping to make her own way out of her mother’s shadow. Finally, Marianne is the quiet and clever daughter of a village pastor with a secret she must keep hidden.

I loved The Eights. Testament of Youth was one of my favourite books last year and the blurb for The Eights immediately made me think of the latter portion of that book. Vera Brittain even makes a cameo, which I loved! It’s such an interesting setting and time period and Miller’s research and attention to detail shine through. The four characters are so well defined and draw attention to different aspects of the time period like the First World War and the suffragettes.

While the Eights benefit from the progress of women’s rights to allow them to attend, their lives are still tightly controlled at the university. Miller paints a fascinating picture of what it would be like for them to attend. Needless to say, pretty different from a modern-day experience. They also face rampant misogyny from professors and fellow students who do not think they belong at Oxford.

I thought this was a brilliant and lovely novel, which I would highly recommend. I think it would make a wonderful TV adaptation as well.

The Eights is an excellent debut novel from Joanna Miller. It follows the lives of four women undergraduates who meet when they matriculate at Oxford University in 1920, amongst the first cohort of women to have the opportunity not just to attend the university, but also to receive degrees. The title of the book and the nickname for the women comes from their being allocated rooms on corridor 8 of St Hugh’s College.

Beatrice Sparks is studying the new subject of PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics). She is well versed in politics with her mother being a well-known campaigner for women’s suffrage and strong believer in equality for women both in education and in life. Marianne Grey is a vicar’s daughter who has received a scholarship to study English and clearly has some parts of her life she wants to keep hidden from her new friends. Dora Greenwood only has the opportunity to attend university because her brother who would have been there died in the Great War. Having also lost her fiancé Charles in the war, she has a sense of grief and guilt that she is there and he can’t be. Ottaline (Otto) Wallace-Kerr refused a proposal so she could come to Oxford. Her parents don’t take her ambitions seriously despite the fact that she is a genius at maths.

I thought the author created a brilliant sense of time and place in this book. As well following our students round the university and town of Oxford, we also find out lots about life as a student at this momentous time. This is partly achieved by the use of university related vocabulary. There is a very useful glossary of educational terms at the back of the book so fear not if you don’t know what rustication, pass mods or being sent down means: you will find it all here.

A couple of years post war, it is clear to see the effect it has had on the students and indeed the whole nation. No-one has been untouched by the war and everyone has lost someone. Amidst the grief, there’s also a sense of new possibilities, grasping opportunities and making the most of life in tribute to those who were lost. There are some touching chapters where we find out about the wartime experiences of the four protagonists and how their lives and ambitions were affected.

It was so interesting reading about the lives of women at Oxford in the 1920s and although the four main characters are fictional, many of their experiences reflect genuine events which happened at Oxford University and in the wider world that time. Some real historic figures also make an appearance. The author has done a fantastic job of weaving together fact with fiction making for a very realistic narrative. I had to keep reminding myself that Dora, Marianne, Otto and Beatrice weren’t actually real.

However, they felt so real to me that I would love to know what happened next for the four women. I don’t know if the author has plans to write more about them but I would certainly be interested in a sequel showing how the rest of their university careers unfolded for these history making women. An absorbing, enlightening and often moving book, I can happily recommend The Eights to anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction as well as stories about strong women and their friendship.

Its 1920 and Oxford University has admitted women students for the first time (I Must admit I found this odd because there were also older women who finally received their degrees from Oxford so how did they study?) and four young women from different walks of life are allotted rooms on staircase eight.

Otto is the youngest of four aristocratic sisters, her mother hasn't spoken to her for months after she refused to marry a wealthy acquaintance and instead chose to study maths at Oxford.

Dora is only at Oxford (despite being extremely clever) because bother her brother and her fiancé died during WW1, within two weeks of each other. She always wanted to be a wife and mother and faces an uncertain future where men are in short supply.

Beatrice is the daughter of a celebrated suffragette, her mother is very self-absorbed and alternately ignores and berates Beatrice for things she cannot change.

The fourth girl is Marianne, the daughter of a vicar in a nearby village, she returns home every other weekend and returns exhausted.

The young women navigate a strange new world, particularly strange since some of them were working during the war, so to be required to be accompanies by a chaperone and be forbidden to speak to any male student who is not their brother seems archaic.

I liked the historical detail and Joanna Miller says she did a lot of research about the era and Oxford, visiting on multiple occasions, I was just feeling there wasn't enough heart in the story - often a concern where you have four protagonists. In this case, Beatrice felt like the spare part, she didn't really have a story. Overall I felt it was a bit paint by numbers, there's the poor little rich girl, the girl with a secret, the girl who lost everything, blah, blah, blah.

I liked it but I didn't love it - if the characters had been real people I could have understood it better, but fictional characters who don't step off the page? Meh.

I received an Arc from the publisher via NetGalley.

I was fascinated by the story of these young women, some of the earliest, to attend Oxford university during the 1920s. The story highlights the experiences of women, emerging from the devastation of WW2, with a burning desire to prove themselves. Full of historic detail, the story covers women's suffrage, the role of the Oxford colleges during the First World War and the women who worked there, lights on the 'single women' status of women during the postwar period and details the injured and damaged young men who were the 'survivors' of the war but who returned as very different people.
I loved the different characters of The Eights, finding myself really caring and rooting for these young women in the challenges they faced during their first year at Oxford. Their different stories highlight the 1920s of Oxford bringing their characters vividly alive. I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys history especially that which reflects on women and the struggle for equality. A brilliant read!

The Eights imagines the lives of four Oxford undergraduates who were part of the very first class to be granted the ability to earn a degree from the university (previously women could enroll and take the same examinations as men, but not be awarded a degree). Though it is a fictional account, the strongest aspect of the book is Miller's immpecable research and her detailed evocation of what life was like in an enclosed world that still holds a fair bit of mystery today. Most of us will never enter an Oxford College, so in addition to the historical interest, The Eights allows readers to gain a small and pleasurable glimpse of Oxford's secret spaces, rituals and terminologies.

The four central characters are drawn with a fair bit of depth and each has a pleasing arc, though the wider ensemble of figures who populate the novel are somewhat harder to keep straight. I found myself losing track of who was who amongst the male undergraduates, but ultimately this didn't impact the overall enjoyment of the book. Miller's writing is strongest when she engages with the complicated feelings of horror, grief and guilt felt by the population in the wake of the First World War, and it is a testament to the novel that despite this focus it never veers into melodrama or sanctimony. Overall, an impressive debut that I enjoyed from both a historical and a narratological perspective.

'The Eights' is a wonderful story of four very different women who are of the first women to study and graduate at Oxford University in 1920.

Otto, Beatrice, Dora and Marianne learn to find their way within the maze and demands of Oxford. It is an uplifting story about how these brave, intelligent, resilient women form a strong friendship. I particularly, really enjoyed the vivacious character of Ottoline.

I really enjoyed reading about this pivotal moment in history, post WW1 when women were given the vote.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this eCopy to review

Joanna Miller’s The Eights is a thoughtful and immersive historical fiction novel that transports readers to 1920s Oxford, where four pioneering women navigate academia in a male-dominated world. It’s a beautifully crafted debut that shines in its depiction of female resilience and the changing social landscape of the era.

The novel follows Dora, Beatrice, Otto, and Marianne—four women from very different backgrounds who find themselves sharing a dormitory floor and forging an unbreakable bond. Dora, grieving the loss of her brother and fiancé in World War I, arrives at Oxford determined to make the most of her education. Beatrice, the daughter of a famous suffragette, is passionate about carving her own path. Otto, a former wartime nurse, seeks distraction from haunting memories, while Marianne, the quiet daughter of a village pastor, harbours a secret that could jeopardise her future.

Miller’s elegant prose and meticulous research bring the setting to life. The struggles these women face—misogyny, grief, societal expectations—are compelling and timely.

The Eights offers a fascinating glimpse into a pivotal moment in history, and its themes of friendship and perseverance resonate deeply.

Set between the two great wars in the 1920s this novel follows four women as they attend their first year at Oxford University. All have their own powerful reasons for competing in what has been previously a male dominated world and I cheered for their strength and tenacity to overcome the prejudices that they met. A real page turner which kept me reading until late at night and I shall miss the characters and their stories. A real triumph and I look forward to the author’s next book. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Set over the course of the academic year 1920-1, The Eights, Joanna Miller's debut novel, follows four female undergraduates who start at Oxford at the same time women are finally permitted to not only study at the institution but be awarded degrees. Beatrice has grown up in the shadow of her famous suffragette mother but is slowly and awkwardly developing an identity of her own, inspired by famous lesbian icon Radclyffe Hall. Dora lost her brother and fiancé in the war and is trying to rebuild her life, despite the distracting attentions of men. Marianne doesn't know if she will last at Oxford past a single day, given the secrets in her past. Otto is a dissolute socialite who, nevertheless, carries the shame of her traumatic failure during the time she worked in an Oxford college converted to military hospital. Miller does a cracking job of handling four main characters and developing the relationships between this group of friends. I particularly liked her refreshing habit of making unexpected narrative decisions, both major and minor: no, Otto just is very bad at nursing; Beatrice's sexuality is not defined by a big romance; an infamously sexist don who hates women is also a brilliant lecturer; the practical choice for a debate at the Oxford Union about letting women study at Oxford might be a traditionally feminine student rather than a maverick.

The haunting backdrop to the women's stories is a depiction of the University that recognises what it must have been like as a place in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. The officer class took the greatest casualties - which explains why the elite women in this novel worry about being left without husbands even though there were more men as a proportion of the population in inter-war Britain than late Victorian Britain due to reduced emigration. Male students are visibly wounded, physically and mentally, transforming their supposedly gilded experience of the 'dreaming spires'. 'The doctors say I have a nervous affliction,' writes one male character, 'and, judging from the raving I hear at night in the staircases of Queen's, I am not the only one.' The Eights is a chunky book and despite how much I enjoyed Miller's evocation of early inter-war Oxford, it did feel a tad too long to me. I suspect we could have got away with three main characters rather than four, although readers will have different opinions about who was the least important (I'd probably have cut Marianne). I didn't devour it with quite the same glee as Lissa Evans's deliciously witty and energetic Old Baggage, for example. Still, this is strong, convincing book-club histfic that will definitely appeal to readers who enjoyed Evans's novels, as well as Sally Nicholls's Things A Bright Girl Can Do and The Silent Stars Go By.

1920 and as the country recovers from the War, Oxford is accepting the first female students who will gain degrees. For four of them billeted together at St Hugh's it is the chance to break away - Otto, a socialite desperate to escape convention, Beatrice, the daughter of a famous mother wanting to be herself, Dora, suffering devastating loss and Marianne, a clever girl with secrets. Over their first year the girls find friendship in the face of adversity and prejudice.
Superficially, this is a pleasant enough historical fiction novel but it does have a lot of hidden depth. The characters are not too stereotypical but act as great vehicles for bigger themes to be explored and the setting is cleverly placed to hit radical changes in society. Overall a very promising novel.

This was a really enjoyable piece of historical fiction. It’s about four young women who are among Oxford University’s first intake of women in 1920. (Women had been able to study at Oxford prior to that, but they weren’t allowed to graduate). It was fascinating learning about the restrictions that were placed on them by the college and how differently they were treated from male students. Yes they were Oxford students, but they were not equal.

Ottoline, Beatrice, Dora and Marianne all come from very different backgrounds but become fast friends when they are assigned to Corridor Eight of St Hugh’s College. Each has their own secrets or private griefs which we will gradually learn about. Ottoline is haunted by her experiences as a nurse during WW1. Beatrice is struggling to emerge from her mother’s shadow. Dora is grieving the loss of her brother and her fiancé during the War. And enigmatic Marianne has her own well hidden secrets.

As well as life at Oxford, the plot encompasses many other aspects of life in the early 20th century, among them the suffragette movement, the Spanish Flu epidemic and the ongoing impact of WW1.

It’s a really easy and interesting read that I tore through in one sitting. I enjoyed it very much.

What a great debut novel from Joanna Miller, having spent time studying at Oxford University she certainly picked topic she could write about from experience. Although of course her protagonists are from a different era. The town and university certainly comes to life with her wonderful descriptions.

It is the early nineteen twenties and Theodora, Marianne, Beatrice and Ottoline are four of the first intake of women allowed to study for a full degree at Oxford University. These four young women find themselves all with rooms on Corridor Eight of St Hughs College and they soon become friends with the nickname 'The Eights.' As the novel progresses the reader learns about the backgrounds and the secrets they each have. With the many social expectations of the time the women find strength in one another, as they struggle with not only academia but also heartbreak. Despite so much against them they refuse to be beaten.

Having throughly enjoyed 'The Eights' I am hoping to be able to read more in the future from this author. This debut was such an emotive and compelling read, which I highly recommend.

https://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspot.com/2025/04/ebook-384-pages-genre-fiction-literary.html

The Eights by Joanna Miller

I pre-ordered this book as soon as I read the blurb because there was so much about this story of four pioneering women who attend Oxford University and are the first cohort to gain an actual degree. The four women arrive at Oxford in a time of great upheaval. The First World War has ended and women have just been awarded the vote. Beatrice comes from a progressive family, with a suffragette mother who attended Oxford herself despite being unable to graduate like the men. Beatrice is very political, obviously a feminist and is used to being noticed, as she’s usually the tallest woman in a room. Marianne is a scholarship student, but she seems to have secrets. She returns home every other weekend and struggles financially but she is determined to get her education. Ottoline (Otto) comes from a wealthy family, but is haunted by her war experiences after volunteering for a nursing role. She found it so distressing that she had to be redeployed as a driver, giving patients transportation rather than working on the front line. She’s had symptoms of PTSD ever since, but also feelings of shame that she couldn’t do her duty. Dora also struggles with the consequences of war. She received a letter from her fiancé Charles’s regiment to inform her he’d been killed, then only two weeks later her brother George also lost his life. She still sees Charles wherever she goes and being so close to his university only serves to keep him at the forefront of her mind. These four girls are assigned to a corridor where the rooms start with the number eight, giving them their affectionate nickname. This seemingly random allocation starts strong friendships as the girls help each other negotiate their university work, their memories of the war and being taken seriously by their male counterparts.

Oxford University is the oldest English- speaking university in the world, having been founded in the 11th Century. The first colleges for men were fully established 200 years later and the Bodleian Library opened in 1602. Women were only starting to be interested in an Oxford education in the late 1800s and four women’s colleges were established, however even after years of negotiation to do the same courses as men, women had to be chaperoned to lectures. I was amazed to read that despite doing exactly the same exams, women could not be awarded degrees and dons would still refuse to teach them. I couldn’t imagine doing all that work, then having nothing tangible to show for it. It must have been soul-destroying. The author’s story begins after women got the vote and it took until 1920 for women to become fully enrolled at the university as men had been, a ritual called matriculation. The author lays out this facts at the beginning of the novel, which is brilliant for setting the scene generally but also allows us into what is an exclusive world with it’s won language and culture. She separates her book into the named terms - such as Michaelmas or Hilary - and lays out the dress code and rules, different for men and women. She also lets us into what the exams are called and has a glossary at the back in case you get lost. This is such a world away from my life, even though people from my school went to Oxford, it was definitely not for the likes of me. I’d have definitely been a scholarship student and way out of my depth. Finally she splits her first chapter between the four girls so we get a really good sense of who they are and where they’re from.

This is a real character led novel from Joanna Miller and she creates a similar feel to those novels I loved as a girl such as the Little Women series or What Katy Did At School. With both of those novels I felt like these characters would be great fun to be friends with and I loved the scrapes they got into and the character building lessons learned. This has all that, but with great emotional heft and real, gritty issues from that time period. I loved how the characters developed over time and how each of the friends supported but also changed each other with their different backgrounds and perspectives on the world. I felt Marianne’s predicament strongly, in that she’s landed with three friends who are reasonably comfortable financially. I felt it when they all swapped presents for Christmas, but Marianne couldn’t afford to buy them anything, so instead created a framed favourite poem for each of them. Her offerings are always from the heart and she’s definitely the most thoughtful and most serious of the girls. She also has the hurdle of illness to climb over, as well as whatever takes her home on weekends. The others notice that she’s never managed her reading so what is she doing? She has the constant fear of not passing the year and losing her scholarship and is preparing herself for the eventuality of only spending one year there. Ottoline is probably her opposite, in fact if it wasn’t for her love of maths she might be tearing about London with her sister and the rest of the Bright Young Things. There’s the rather imperious side to Otto, such as the way she’s always scuttling into tearooms and the nickname ‘Baroness’ that she earned in the war. However, there’s a softer side too and that terrible sense of failure she still feels, but she definitely comes through for Marianne when she contracts flu. Otto proves capable of dealing with bodily fluids, cooling Marianne in the bath and even washing her down with a damp cloth. She is even the first to uncover Marianne’s secret and guards it ferociously.

Beatrice is living with the weight of her mother’s success, both as a student of Oxford and a suffragette. She is a woman of ‘considerable reknown’ and this has given Beatrice an interesting childhood. She now has several hobbies - writing letters to politicians and watching debates in the commons, propagating orchids and being able to read Ancient Greek. She seems the perfect fit for Oxford but has never really lived in close proximity to other young women or lived anywhere but the family home in Bloomsbury. Two key events in the book seem to shape her future. She meets a young woman called Ursula who is outspoken, political and wears men’s clothing, which is much more comfortable than women’s. Beatrice is bowled over by her new acquaintance and is determined to wear men’s shirts and ties from then on. There is also the ceremony for her mother who will finally be awarded an Oxford degree. There is a push and pull constantly between who Beatrice is and where she has come from; does she accept and enjoy the legacy of her mother, or does she move away from it? Through her we learn about some of the worst aspects of the suffragette’s fight, particularly the way some women were treated as protestors and prisoners. Dora is a delightful girl from the country, who comes to university rather old-fashioned in her longer skirts and waist length hair, when hemlines are rising and hair is being shingled shorter than ever. Yet she’s weighed down with the early throes of bereavement and has come to Oxford in the hope of feeling closer to the memory of her fiancé who should have come to Queen’s College. She wants more than to pour tea, play whist and prop up her mother who’s grief is inconsolable. Dora will perhaps change the most and with a terrible shock to come, Dora may have to make a decision between the new life she has created or her old one.

I loved every moment I spent with these young women. They are all equally interesting and important so I couldn’t pick one I gelled with most. I loved Beatrice’s awakening, her straight forward manner and her bravery. Otto made me laugh and became so much more nuanced than the spoiled rich girl she could have been. Dora’s gentle strength is admirable, especially when it is tested. Marianne is the dark horse of the group, but she’s surprising and has a strong sense of what is right for her. This is a favourite time period for me so I loved the clothing, the outings, the rising tide of women wanting more from life than a ring and motherhood. These women are the birth of who we are now and I think the author was really successful in portraying issues that are still relevant. As we see women’s rights being eroded and the misogyny on social media, this is also about how men treat women. Whether it’s the control wielded by a father figure or professor, the deception and double-standards men use to manipulate women, the sexual predator or abuser, taking a chance moment or a position of power to commit violence. I believe that just the chance to pursue their education with the freedom men take for granted, is a huge step for the women in terms of status but also self-confidence. However, it is the friendship of these four women, first and foremost, that helps them grow. Their unflinching support and understanding of each other is beautifully drawn and brings to mind something I’ve always said to women on my ‘authentic self’ workshops; men may come and go, but it’s the women in your life who will hold you up’.

I absolutely loved this book and stayed up well past my bedtime to finish this as I really couldn't stop reading!
The idea of following the first cohort of Oxford students who were accepted as full students (as opposed to those tolerated at the University) was clever as it allowed the plot to be about the women and the challenges they faced as students, and in a post WW1 World, without also having to have them fight for recognition.

I felt I really got to know the Eights really well and all of their back stories were heart breaking in their own way. I liked the very gentle inclusion of real people into the story and felt this worked rather than being 'name dropping'.
As well as the story of four women forging their futures I also found this to be a great book to show how damaged *everyone* was by the war - whether they fought on the front lines or not.
In my mind this makes a great companion piece to Alice Winn's In Memoriam as well as being great for people who like The Testament of Youth (book and film) and also The Bookbinder of Jericho. It is also makes me hope for a revival of Jessica Swale's play Bluestockings.

This is an astounding debut and I can see it being high on my books of the year list

This story focuses on 4 women attending. Oxford after the war it shows the difficulties, prejudices, women faced.
We follow Otto, Marianna, Beatrice and Dora. They all have their own reasons for being there. And we see the world through their eyes and the changes that have taken place in their lives. There is also much about women's suffer age.
It is an interesting and well told story. Well researched and puts the reader right there.
All four women are trying to find their way and we see friendship as and bonds forming and witness their hopes and dreams.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher.