The Eights

An entertaining and moving imagining of four smart women dealing with the engrained misogyny of the time. I came to love and admire the four as if they were my sisters

TRACY CHEVALIER

A hugely atmospheric snapshot of Oxford at a momentous point in its history ... Intriguing, clever and completely absorbing. The city itself was so cleverly drawn - I could feel the changing atmosphere of Oxford throughout the year ... I absolutely loved it.

CAROL ATHERTON, author of Reading Lessons

Such an enjoyable book. I loved its carefully crafted world and the focus on the abiding friendship between the four women, whom I came to think of friends myself by the end. It was moving, spirited and a lot of fun, much like the heroines of the novel

ZOË SOMERVILLE, author of The Marsh House

A story about women taking their place in a man’s world, The Eights beautifully captures the power of friendship and love in the wake of extraordinary loss. It was a pleasure to read

PIP WILLIAMS, author of The Dictionary of Lost Words

I so enjoyed The Eights and became completely involved in the lives of the four pioneering heroines whose friendship is the beating heart of the book

CLARE CHAMBERS, author of Small Pleasures

Witty and charming … an atmospheric testament to the power of friendship and the tenacious young women who led the charge for equality of opportunity

JESSICA BULL, author of A Fortune Most Fatal

My book of the year. The writing is wonderful, the subject fascinating and the storylines utterly absorbing. I’m so sad I’ve finished it. I loved everything about this book. I ADORED it

JILL MANSELL

Charming, quietly devastating, the four young women at the heart of The Eights have stayed with me long after putting the book down. Joanna's lightness of touch belies the tragedies and compromises women were confronted with amid the echo of the Great War, and how they fought for recognition and acceptance at Oxford University. A spellbinding, heartbreaking and utterly hopeful book.

CATHRYN KEMP, author of A Poisoner's Tale

A triumph. Pin-sharp, atmospheric, a historical fiction novel about four women admitted to Oxford University in 1920 - but also a sweeping tale of female friendship and the fight for equality in the wake of World War One ... A stunning debut, a window into a world not so long ago, yet entirely different from our own.

EMMA COWING, author of The Show Woman

Totally immersive and captivating. This is a GLORIOUS debut and the struggles of these four women felt incredibly real. Impeccably researched and beautifully written. I ADORED it. One of my books of the year for sure.

JULIE OWEN MOYLAN, author of That Green Eyed Girl

I fell in love with this book from the first chapter ... Miller pens such a vivid portrait of the lives of young women finding their way in a man's world under the long shadow of the Great War. It's dripping with historical detail ... What I adored most though was the life-affirming friendships ... The true strength of this novel is the realisation of how powerful female solidarity can be. A joyous anthem to friendship

KATE THOMPSON, author of The Little Wartime Library

The Eights has all the hallmarks of a modern classic! Beautiful writing and superb characterisation evoking a hugely important time in our history which still resonates today. I adored this book

CAROLE HAILEY, author of The Silence Project

Dark academia is everywhere but what about comfort-reading academia? The Eights by Joanna Miller is a gorgeous debut about the first female students allowed to matriculate at Oxford in 1920, and I utterly adored it. In a world still reeling from the impact of WW1, and still rife with sexism, it’s far from frothy but the bonds between Otto, Beatrice, Marianne, and Dora are so deep and strong I know I’ll come back to this book in the future for guaranteed blissful reading. Fans of Quinn, both Frances and Joanna, will love this novel for a long time

NAOMI KELSEY, author of The Burnings

Dazzling and illuminating. A polyphonic story of sisterhood and solidarity, following four women as they cement their place in a world of men, and in history

LUCY STEEDS, author of The Artist

A heartfelt, thoughtful and engaging book about the first women students to go to Oxford University - their friendships, their secrets, their ambitions and their opponents - in the tremulous, haunted years immediately after the First World War. Joanna Miller brings 1920s Oxford to life with a vivid immediacy and makes us care deeply about four young women who find themselves pioneers in a strange new world, trying to find a way forward in the aftermath of war. A thoroughly lovely debut that will win many hearts, with its celebration of friendship and the persistence of hope

JOANNA QUINN, author of The Whalebone Theatre

The Eights is an impeccably crafted novel about four women struggling for equality in the 1920s that still feels painfully relevant today. It’s a story that encapsulates the power and beauty of female friendships and it will stay with me for a long time

JOSIE FERGUSSON, author of The Silence In Between

These women soon become friends through the page and make me fondly and nostalgically recall that feeling of pure hope, wonder and fear as one stands on the edge of adult life simply wondering. Hoping. And wondering some more.

EMMA BARNETT

Engaging, warm and intelligent, this debut about the first women students at Oxford - their deep friendship, and all they must face - is a delight!

LUCY ATKINS, author of Magpie Lane

The Eights is a beautifully life-affirming novel with wonderful characterisation. I was completely immersed in the atmospheric world of post-war Oxford that Miller has created, and rooting every step of the way for her four brilliantly inspiring heroines. I've no doubt it will be one of my books of the year.

HANNAH BECKERMAN

I loved this book. A hugely entertaining and brilliant-written novel which gives us not one, not two but four incredible female characters to root for. Meticulously researched and impeccably crafted. An entirely delightful debut

ANNA MAZZOLA, author of The Clockwork Girl

What a beautifully tender study of trauma and recovery - emotional without becoming over-sentimental. I was rooting for the four women from the very first page. What particularly impressed me was how Jo managed to convey the hurdles faced by women in that era while still writing likeable, well-rounded male characters. All in all, a glorious read

FIZA SAEED MCLYNN, author of The Midnight Carousel

'A heartwarming and inspiring exploration of sisterhood and friendship, the guilt and grief of surviving the war and the human connections we need to keep living ... I felt bereft when it ended'

NATALIE GREGORY, author of Mother, Ghost, Mangoseed

I loved this story of the first women admitted to Oxford University - and its gorgeously written characters. Rooted strongly in time and place, this novel transports you

JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things

What a debut. The four girls are so deftly and convincingly characterised – and it is easy to forget how difficult it was in this era for women to make their way. A must read

ELIZABETH BUCHAN, author of Bonjour, Sophie

I wholeheartedly recommend this joyful read about the power of female friendship

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I LOVED The Eights. What an achievement! It felt so energising, fresh, important. I loved all four of the characters - I was on Corridor Eight with them, willing them on - and I particularly loved that the heart of the novel is female friendship, power, possibility ... It's the sort of books one gives one's best friends - and so I shall

SUSAN FLETCHER

The Eights is not only blissful escapism, it's also a beautifully wrought story of women’s rights, freedom, love and experience. I couldn’t put it down.

HARRIET EVANS