According to Spark, Brodie might take the girls out for a lesson en plein aire in the Marcia Blaine school garden. It was a lesson and not a picnic. According to Ronald Neame’s film adaptation, there is a picnic sequence that is intended to be a recognition of Brodie’s prime.
Ronald Neame’s picnic of Jean Brodie and her girls is his invention.
Featured Image: “These years are still the years of my prime. It is important to recognize the years of one’s prime, always remember that.” Jean Brodie (Maggie Smith) is surrounded by her girls. Sandy Stranger (Pamela Franklin) Brodie’s betrayer is seated far left.
See Muriel Spark. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. London: Macmillan, 1961; Ronald Neame. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Screenplay by Jay Pressen Allen is based on Spark’s novel.