When I finished Joanna Miller’s The Eights, I was just sitting there with a mix of admiration and mild annoyance. This historical novel takes place at Oxford University in 1920 and follows four young women – Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto – who are among the first to be officially accepted to study for full degrees. The idea is interesting, and it caught my attention right away. The suffragette movement, the aftermath of World War I, and the quiet revolution of women entering academic spaces all make for a rich background for what is, at its core, a story of friendship and strength.
Summary of the Plot
The story is about four women who live next to each other at St. Hugh’s College. Beatrice is smart and politically aware. Her mother was a well-known suffragette. Dora is sad because she lost her brother and boyfriend in the war. Marianne, the daughter of a vicar, is quiet and thinks a lot. And Otto, who is glamorous, brave, and often outrageous, adds a lot of energy to every scene she’s in. As the school year goes on, we follow their personal journeys, their growing bond, and the problems they have to deal with at a school that is still getting used to the idea of women scholars.
We also see bits of their lives before Oxford, like what they went through during the war and how those things shaped them. These things also affect how they spend their time at university. The book doesn’t shy away from the limits that are put on them: they can’t leave college alone, they have to deal with male peers watching them, and they have to keep proving their worth. But through it all, their friendship is what keeps them going.
The book does a great job of exploring themes like female empowerment, found family, and the quiet rebellion of just being in a space that wasn’t made for you. The setting after the war adds emotional depth by showing how trauma stays with people and how healing often happens through connection. The legacy of the suffragettes is woven in in a subtle but strong way, especially through Beatrice’s story.
I really liked how Miller handled the historical details; they never felt like an info dump. The vocabulary that was specific to Oxford was a nice touch, and the glossary was very useful. The setting, both in terms of time and space, was shown in a way that was very clear. I could almost hear footsteps echoing in the college halls and smell the wet stone after it rained.
What Worked for Me
- Atmosphere: The book brings Oxford in the 1920s to life with rich, immersive details.
- Historical depth: The suffragette movement and the end of World War I are both handled with care.
- Female friendship: The bond between the four women is what makes the novel work.
- Different personalities: Each character has their own voice and story.
What Didn’t Work So Well For Me
Even with all that, I had a hard time connecting with the characters as much as I had hoped. It was hard to fully understand how each woman felt because the story was told in the third person and switched between them. I often felt like I was watching them instead of being with them. Otto, for example, steals the show, but I wanted to know more about her inner life. I wanted to sit with Dora and Marianne’s grief and reflection for a little longer, too.
It was also hard to keep track of who was who in the first third of the book. Their voices weren’t quite right yet, so I kept going back to remind myself of their traits and histories.
And even though I liked the social and emotional parts of their college life, I would have liked to see more of the academic parts, like lectures, study groups, and debates. That would have made their journey even more interesting and shown how they dealt with both the social and academic challenges of being pioneers.
Who Would Like This
If you like historical fiction with a strong feminist point of view, or stories about making friends and quietly rebelling, The Eights will probably speak to you. This book is great for people who like stories that focus on characters and settings that are full of detail. There may be echoes here for people who liked Mary McCarthy’s The Group or Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth.
Final Thoughts
The Eights is a well-researched and thought-provoking book that sheds light on an important time in women’s history. I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I had hoped, but I still found the story interesting and the setting completely magical. This book made me want to walk around Oxford and follow in the footsteps of these made-up trailblazers and the real women who inspired them.
A good book with some really great parts. It could have been even better if it had been more emotionally intimate. I’m still glad I read it.
Thank you to Penguin Random House SA for the opportunity to read this book.
Read an Extract here: Extract: The Eights by Joanna Miller Penguin Random House South Africa
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