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. I really liked this book!

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.

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.

When you go to Oxford, it is a city that exudes a strong sense of the footsteps past, and this novel taps into that rich history. Four young women are the first “undergraduettes” to attend the university, embracing their studies in the Michaelmas Term 1920 at St Hugh’s College (which “looks like a home for lost governesses”). The story evolves through the Hilary and Trinity Terms into Summer 1921. This is the story of a friendship group in Corridor 8 at the College. They were the first cohort of female students after the Great War to study for a full degree, and as such they were pioneers. Beatrice, Dora, Marianne and Otto (Ottoline) immediately bond, Each has a different backstory and personality – and initially I felt they were going to be of a ‘type’, cliché, even – but in this author’s capable hands they blossom and develop into wonderfully individual characters. The characters are beautifully set in the context of their era and there is great excitement surrounding the works of an emerging author called Agatha Christie. There are still the reverberations of the war years, affecting one young woman in particular, and there is involvement with the emerging suffragette movement. The young women have to abide by rigorous rules and wear specific clothes, running the daily gauntlet of male undergraduates, who resent their presence and make fun of them. But as a group they are determined to make their way, despite the innumerable obstacles and barriers. The sense of time and place is beautifully brought to life in the extremely competent storytelling of this debut author, and I really look forward to what she serves up next. She will gain a loyal following as she builds her oeuvre, there is no doubt about that.

The Eights by Joanna Miller gives insight into being the first female students at Oxford through the lives of four women. Beatrice comes from a wealthy family and her mother is a famous suffragette. Dora lost her brother and fiancé to the war. Otto served as a nurse and suffers from the horrors she saw. Marianne is the daughter of a pastor and struggles to fit in. I recommend this book for historical fiction fans. The Eights focuses on the lives of the women as they navigate their new friendships. While the women come from different backgrounds, they become close and protective of each other. Each girl’s story and background unfolds slowly as they overcome the obstacles of a male dominated world. Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.