This chapter explores Eileen’s life between school and her marriage twelve years later. It looks at her three years spent at Oxford, where her love of English literature develops further. Through letters and memoirs from her fellow students, we obtain a glimpse of her life at a time when Oxford had only recently allowed female students to graduate. Having failed to obtain a hoped-for First Class degree, Eileen spends the next few years drifting from one job to another, acquiring shorthand and typing skills that would be invaluable to her later. We also see her early passion for social equality in her campaign on behalf of fellow employees at a typing agency. This chapter also draws on the first of the letters we have from Eileen, as she corresponds with friends made at Oxford. Her fateful decision to start a Masters in Psychology in 1934 leads to her meeting Orwell at a party held by his flatmate, one of Eileen's fellow students.