The Eights

By: Joanna Miller

Narrated by: Alix Dunmore

They knew they were changing history.
They didn’t know they would change each other.

Following the unlikely friendship of four women in the first female class at Oxford, their unshakeable bond in the face of male contempt, and their coming of age in a world forever changed by World War I.

“Entertaining and moving…I came to love these four women as though they were my sisters.”—TRACY CHEVALIER, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its one-thousand-year history, Oxford University officially admits female students. Burning with dreams of equality, four young women move into neighboring rooms in Corridor 8. Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto—collectively known as The Eights—come from all walks of life, each driven by their own motives, each holding tight to their secrets, and are thrown into an unlikely, unshakable friendship.

Dora was never meant to go to university, but, after losing both her brother and her fiancé on the battlefield, has arrived in their place. Politically-minded Beatrice, daughter of a famous suffragette, sees Oxford as a chance to make her own way - and some friends her own age. Otto was a nurse during the war but is excited to return to her socialite lifestyle in Oxford where she hopes to find distraction from the memories that haunt her. And finally Marianne, the quiet, clever daughter of a village pastor, who has a shocking secret she must hide from everyone, even her new friends, if she is to succeed.

Among the historic spires, and in the long shadow of the Great War, the four women must navigate and support one another in a turbulent world in which misogyny is rife, influenza is still a threat, and the ghosts of the Great War don’t always remain dead.

Friendship

A wonderful development of friendship among 4 strangers . They were the first to be admitted to Oxford after WW1 and this was interesting .

Characters including Oxford.

The author is very good at placing me at Oxford in 1920, enjoying all the challenges of young scholars

Fascinating History of Women at Oxford

I loved the individual stories of the women and the actual rules that were enforced for women in 1920-21. The rules for not setting fires in the Bodleian Library are still in force today.

Women enriching each others lives

What a truly wonderful story. Pleasant and powerful all at once. I highly recommend for anyone who loves stories of friendship and life

We should all have friends like these

In 1920, four women from different backgrounds—Dora, Beatrice, Otto, and Marianne—forge an enduring bond as the first female students at Oxford, navigating personal loss, societal expectations, and the lingering trauma of World War I.

This is a character driven novel - so if you expect plot swings, likely not a book for you because overall not a lot happens.

But I LOVED the relationship between the 4 friends and the Oxford setting.