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.

I enjoyed the story of The Eights. The 1920s time period isn't an era I have read a lot in so it was great to have a fresh historical setting. Thank you for the arc.

This was a joy to read. I loved all four main characters so much, their courage, and determination and their absolute friendship.
It was beautiful.

What a fabulous book!
Following the story of Dora, Beatrice, Otto and Marianne who are among the first women to study at Oxford university after the end of the First World War.
Beautifully written and incredibly moving, I was fully immersed in the lives of the four main characters as they navigated the rules and regulations of university life. Rules, of course, that only applied to them as women.
The author has clearly done her research and she brings this part of history to life in the most interesting and compelling way.
Thank you to Joanna Miller, NetGalley and to Penguin for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

The story of four women who have lived through the First World War and then meet up at Oxford University as some of the first women allowed to study and be awarded a degree. I loved all the characters, enjoying particularly the female perspective of that time in history. I was almost unable to put it down, but my enjoyment turned it into one of those books you never want to end. A really worthwhile read.

I really enjoyed this book. Rosie and Seb live in the sleepy seaside town of Waverly, where Seb has achieved his lifelong ambition of becoming the head teacher of the local comprehensive school. Abi, a young single parent has moved to the town to work in a new restaurant and make a better life for her kids. When she and Seb come face to face it is clear they have met before and both do not want the reason to become public. This is a story of how gossip can escalate and change the lives of the people involved forever.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

A superb novel!

In 1920's Oxford, history takes place when the University admits women for the very first time. Four young women are placed in neighbouring rooms in corridor eight and are thereby referred to as 'The Eights'. Not only is it a first for the university, it's a definite first for these young women who come from all walks of life; will they settle to academia and, more importantly, will academia accept them?

What a fantastic read. I loved everything about it. Despite being set over a century ago, I found it to be so relevant to life today. How long and hard women worked to get suffrage and yet, in 2025, we seem to be getting it all taken from us far more easily. Quite apart from that side of things, this was an enthralling novel which kept me glued to it from the beginning to the very end. Highly recommended and easily meriting all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.

This is historical fiction at its best, full of historical detail but never bogged down by it, and a thoroughly entertaining read featuring four women who I fell in love with.

Set in 1920, the book follows four women in the first female cohort admitted as full members of Oxford University and allowed to take degrees. Beatrice, Marianne, Dora and Otto arrive at St Hughs and all have rooms on Corridor Eight. Despite considerable differences in both background and outlook they become the firmest of friends as they learn to navigate this male-dominated environment, and all the challenges that presents, as well as to live in a country still coming to terms with the irrevocable changes wrought by World War I.

As we follow them through the academic year, we learn more about the women and you will take each of them to your heart as you learn how the war has impacted them and the individual challenges they have faced - and in some cases, the secrets they keep.

This is a book that resonated personally with me as Miller brilliantly brings to life Oxford, the town where I was a student and where many of the university traditions mentioned still continue to this day - and the story also features Berkhamsted, the town where I currently live.

But what makes this book such a delight is that Miller brilliantly combines a well-researched and fascinating snapshot of the time, a key moment in women’s history, with four characters who it is a joy to get to know. I loved these women, I loved their determination and resilience - and am grateful for the path they forged. But most of all I loved their relationship, a true testament to the power of female friendship.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I was a bit disappointed in this book and didn't enjoy it as much as I expected. It seems to be well researched and I liked the inclusion of real people such as Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby.

I found it a bit of a slog at first but it does pick up towards the end.

My difficulty with the book was the 4 main characters. I felt they were rather thinly drawn and identified by one characteristic - Dora 's beauty, Beatrice's height, Marianne's secret and Otto the rich one. I was not invested in any of the women and was not really bothered about what happens to them. I kept getting Dora and Marianne mixed up. Part of Marianne's secret was easy to guess and the other parts about the farm hand and then Henry seemed both unlikely and convenient.

The book ends quite abruptly I think and although I do not rate this book particularly highly, I would read a Further Adventures of the Eights. about their lives after university.

What a lovely read. I'm such a sucker for historical fiction and this one was right up my street. A feminist tale about strong women wanting more out of life. I would absolutely recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this one. It is set in 1920, the first time that women are allowed to study for a degree at Oxford University, previously they have been allowed to study, but wouldn't be able to get a degree.

The story follows four women all living on corridor eight, so they become known as The Eights. The Great War has not long ended, and all are affected by it to varying degrees, it is always there in the background, and often in the foreground.

The Eights consist of Otto - a socialite with a head for figures, Dora, who lost both her brother and fiance in quick succession, Beatrice - the daughter of a prominent suffragette and Marianne - the daughter of a vicar, who returns home once a fortnight for the weekend. Their characters are well drawn, and I found myself drawn into their dramas, and rooting for them. They encounter plenty of kickback from men at the Uni, but also a lot of support. With so many surplus women, they feel the need to be able to support themselves if the need should arise. I loved the cameos from Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby. While the are some romantic subplots, the main thrust of the novel is the strong ties of female friendship forged between these women, something that is often lacking in novels today. Would recommend, especially for anyone with an interest in this era.

*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

this was a lovely moving read that really transports you back and full of interesting well written threads that are pulled together. Fully recommend for any fans of historical fiction

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.