The Eights

Heartfelt, thoughtful and engaging ... A thoroughly lovely debut that will win many hearts

Heartfelt, thoughtful and engaging ... A thoroughly lovely debut that will win many hearts

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

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

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

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

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

The Eights has heart, soul, intelligence and wit, and packing it might well make a suitcase lighter

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.

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

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

Joanna Miller was raised in Cambridge and studied English at Exeter College, Oxford. After a decade working in education, she set up an award-winning poetry gift business. She has recently graduated from Oxford again, with a diploma in creative writing. She lives with her husband and three children in Hertfordshire. The Eights is her first novel.