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The Eights
- Author
- Joanna Miller
- Narrator
- Alix Dunmore
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 3 April 2025
- Run Time
- 10 hours 10 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: diversity, equity, equality, inclusion, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems, Feminism and feminist theory, Higher education, tertiary education
- Rating
- 5.0 (5 reviews)
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
They knew they were changing history.
They didn’t know they would change each other.
Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its 1000-year history, the world’s most famous university has admitted female students. Giddy with dreams of equality, education and emancipation, four young women move into neighbouring rooms on Corridor Eight. They have come here from all walks of life, and they are thrown into an unlikely, life-affirming 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. Beatrice, politically-minded daughter of a famous suffragette, sees Oxford as a chance to make her own way – and her own friends – for the first time. Socialite Otto fills her room with extravagant luxuries but fears they won’t be enough to distract her from her memories of the war years. And quiet, clever, Marianne, the daughter of a village vicar, arrives bearing a secret she must hide from everyone – even The Eights – if she is to succeed.
But Oxford’s dreaming spires cast a dark shadow: in 1920, misogyny is still rife, influenza is still a threat, and the ghosts of the Great War are still very real indeed. And as the group navigate this tumultuous moment in time, their friendship will become more important than ever.
The Eights is a captivating debut novel about sisterhood, self-determination, courage, and what it means to come of age in a world that is forever changed.
‘Entertaining and moving…I came to love these four women as though they were my sisters’ TRACY CHEVALIER
‘I ADORED it. What a fantastic read. My book of the year’ JILL MANSELL
'Beautifully captures the power of friendship ... A pleasure to read' PIP WILLIAMS, author of A Dictionary of Lost Words
'I so enjoyed The Eights' CLARE CHAMBERS, author of Small Pleasures
© Joanna Miller 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Critics Review
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I ADORED it. What a fantastic read. My book of the year
Jill Mansel
-
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
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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
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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
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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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
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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
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The Eights has heart, soul, intelligence and wit, and packing it might well make a suitcase lighter
Mick Herron, What We're Reading for Summer 2025
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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
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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
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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
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 4.8
-
5.0 5.0
A delightful story. With lots of great historical references and characters you want ti keep revisiting. This would make a great tv show as well!
EmDo 2026-08-23 -
5.0 5.0
Very enjoyable and thought provoking listen.
I wonder what The Eights would think about the progress in the last 125 years.bluedocs 2026-07-11 -
5.0 5.0
Fantastic, highly recommend !
Wendlovesreading 2025-10-06 -
5.0 5.0
I was looking forward to this book since I saw it’s release announced, and it didn’t disappoint.
I found it a relaxing not too challenging listen full of interesting characters that seemed real, not too perfect or wholesome as sometimes ‘period’ books can have their heroines.
The Oxford they capture seems full of life and colour.
I’m not familiar with the city or the university but I think anyone having had a university experience and discovering that bind of close female friendships will feel nostalgia when listening.
A good sprinkle of history and facts without them being hammered home.
Look forward to seeing what this author does next.vicmcvicster 2025-05-14
Details
- Author
- Joanna Miller
- Narrator
- Alix Dunmore
- Duration
- 10 hours 10 minutes
- Release Date
- 3 April 2025
- ISBN
- 9781405978712
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: diversity, equity, equality, inclusion, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems, Feminism and feminist theory, Higher education, tertiary education
- Rating
- 5.0(5 reviews)
- Narration
- 4.8(5 reviews)
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.They knew they were changing history. They didn’t know they would change each other. Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its 1000-year history, the world’s most famous university has admitted female students. Giddy with dreams of equality, education and emancipation, four young women move into neighbouring rooms on Corridor Eight. They have come here from all walks of life, and they are thrown into an unlikely, life-affirming 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. Beatrice, politically-minded daughter of a famous suffragette, sees Oxford as a chance to make her own way – and her own friends – for the first time. Socialite Otto fills her room with extravagant luxuries but fears they won’t be enough to distract her from her memories of the war years. And quiet, clever, Marianne, the daughter of a village vicar, arrives bearing a secret she must hide from everyone – even The Eights – if she is to succeed.But Oxford’s dreaming spires cast a dark shadow: in 1920, misogyny is still rife, influenza is still a threat, and the ghosts of the Great War are still very real indeed. And as the group navigate this tumultuous moment in time, their friendship will become more important than ever.The Eights is a captivating debut novel about sisterhood, self-determination, courage, and what it means to come of age in a world that is forever changed.‘Entertaining and moving…I came to love these four women as though they were my sisters’ TRACY CHEVALIER‘I ADORED it. What a fantastic read. My book of the year’ JILL MANSELL'Beautifully captures the power of friendship ... A pleasure to read' PIP WILLIAMS, author of A Dictionary of Lost Words'I so enjoyed The Eights' CLARE CHAMBERS, author of Small Pleasures© Joanna Miller 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
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