Why a Booktrail?
1920s: Inspired by a true story – They knew they were changing history. They didn’t know they would change each other.
The Eights
What you need to know before your trail
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.
Locations
Reset- England - Oxfordshire - Oxford
- A: St Hugh's College
- B: St Anne's College
- C: Broad Street
- D: 35 St Giles'
- England - Oxfordshire - Culham
- E: Culham/St Pauls's Church
- England - Hertfordshire
- F: Berkhamsted Common
- G: Berkhamsted Golf Club
Travel Guide
Oxford
The author says in her note that apart from the main characters’ homes. the locations used in the novel are all real, as is the history behind them, especially as the Great War.
For example, Somerville College and the Examination Schools were indeed converted into military hospitals. I made a few small changes for the sake of the story, such as moving the position of the Good Luck Tea Rooms from Cornmarket to Broad Street. The Church at Culham is actually called St Paul’s.
The schools
The women’s collages were defined as halls or societies in 1920 – 1926. However, archived letters and articles show they were commonly referred to as colleges. The Society for Home Students later became St Anne’s college. There is more information on the Oxford University website.
Otto, Beatrice, Dora and Marianne and all the students are drawn from the author’s imagination. The only real person is Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby. Some names however are borrowed from the Fritillary.
Booktrailer Review
This is one of those novels that you think is pure fiction but is actually inspired by real facts. This is the story of three women who weren’t allowed to study at Oxford and weren’t respected when they did. But they weren’t having any of that nonsense.
What a jewel of a read! I got angry on their behalf. Felt like storming in one of those meetings myself. This is going to be good for bookclubs and plenty of discussions.
A really good insightful read!
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Eights
Destination/Location: Oxford, Culham, Berkhamsted Author/guide: Joanna Miller Departure: 1920s
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