Box Hill is a real location pivotal to a significant scene in Emma, where Emma mistreats Miss Bates in front of ther peers during a picnic. Unlike the fictional Highbury, where the majority of the plot is based, Box Hill's existence is rooted in reality, and Austen likely visited it herself. Scholars like Anne-Marie Edwards suggest that Austen must have visited the site when staying with her relatives, the Cookes, at Great Bookham Rectory in June 1814 (she began writing the novel earlier that same year). Box Hill would have been reachable in under an hour from Great Bookahm back in Austen's day. Beyond serving as an authentic backdrop, Box Hill's name, tied to both conflict among characters and a sense of claustrophobia, adds depth to the novel. The dual significance of Box Hill encourages readers to be mindful of what in the novel should be taken literally or with additional meaning. (AR)