Kathleen Mary Norton (; 10 December 1903 – 29 August 1992) was an English writer of children's books. She is best known for The Borrowers series of low fantasy novels (1952 to 1982), which is named after its first book and, in turn, the tiny people who live secretly in the midst of contemporary human civilisation.

Norton won the 1952 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising The Borrowers as the year's outstanding children's book by a British author. Her second husband was Lionel Bonsey, whom she married in 1970.

  • Are All the Giants Dead? (1975) — no relation to the Borrowers series
  • The Bread and Butter Stories (1998) - collection of short stories for adults, written for magazines

Film, TV and theatrical adaptations

thumb|Mary Norton's final resting place in the graveyard of [[St Nectan's Church, Hartland|St. Nectan's Church, the parish church of Hartland, Devon. The inscription on the headstone reads:<br>

"Do not stand at my grave and weep,<br>

I am not there. I do not sleep.<br>

I am a thousand winds that blow.<br>

I am the diamond glints on snow.<br>

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.<br>

I am the gentle autumnal rain.<br>

Do not stand at my grave and cry;<br>

I am not there. I did not die".<br>

(Extract from a poem by Claire Harner.)]]

The Borrowers

There have been several screen adaptations of The Borrowers:

  • The Borrowers: a 1973 American made-for-TV movie.
  • The Borrowers: a 1992 BBC TV series and its 1993 sequel The Return of the Borrowers, both starring Ian Holm and Penelope Wilton.
  • The Borrowers: a 1997 film with a British/American cast including Tom Felton, John Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Celia Imrie and Mark Williams.
  • The Secret World of Arrietty: a 2010 Japanese animated film from Studio Ghibli.
  • The Borrowers: a 2011 British film starring Stephen Fry, Victoria Wood and Christopher Eccleston.
  • The Borrowers: a 2025 French animated TV series

There have also been numerous theatrical adaptations of The Borrowers.

Other works

Norton's novels The Magic Bedknob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons and Bonfires and Broomsticks were adapted into the 1971 Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks, starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson.

Notes

References