THE EIGHTS by Joanna Miller

5 stars

A not-to-be-missed women’s historical fiction based on the first female undergraduates allowed to matriculate to Oxford University post-World War I. Coming from disparate backgrounds, four women find themselves sharing the same 4-room corridor at St. Hugh’s College in 1920. As they live in Corridor 8, they come to call themselves The Eights and form a tighter collective friendship than any of them could have imagined.

There’s wealthy socialite Otto Wallace-Kerr, the youngest of four sisters, who comes to Oxford to spite her controlling mother who would rather she just marry and cares not a whit about Otto’s mathematical prowess. Beatrice Sparks, the only daughter of a famous women’s suffragette leader, towers at 6 feet tall and fights her sense of both insecurity and unworthiness as a result of her mother’s constant disparagement and neglect. Beautiful Dora Greenwood has come in lieu of a place meant for her brother, who died during the war two weeks after Dora’s fiancé, who she met during his officer training in her hometown. Dora still grieves their loss and feels not academic enough to have deserved a spot at Oxford. Kind-hearted Marianne Grey has come to Oxford on scholarship, which she needs to continue to afford to attend, and goes home every other weekend to help care for her ailing, widowed Rector father.

The pervasive misogyny at Oxford, with many men hostile to the admittance of women, pervades their campus experiences, academic work, and feelings of worth. The women feel both a powerful need to be the best they can be to show women worthy of attending, while also feeling socially curtailed by the strict separation of sexes imposed. Even their college caps and gowns sag in comparison to the smart outfits of the men. But their collective spirit and constant ability to find fun wins the day.

They also confront deeply held secrets, many from the war time, which only draws them closer together. The specter of World War I lingers poignantly over all – from injuries sustained from the undergraduate men who fought as soldiers, the family losses to war, war-time romances, and harrowing memories by the women who worked with the injured in war time London.

The very best one can hope from women’s historical fiction, and based mostly on real events and stories, you feel as if you for the first time truly understand a historical era. I also felt flooded with gratitude for the many unsung heroines who broke down gender barriers that so dramatically benefitted generations of women who followed them.

Thanks to Penguin Group, Putnam, and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.