Kathleen Mary Norton, known professionally as Mary Norton, was an English writer of children's books. She is best known for The Borrowers series of low fantasy novels, which is named after its first book and, in turn, the tiny people who live secretly in the midst of contemporary human civilisation.
Mary Norton
'The Cedars', Norton's home until 1921 and reportedly the setting of The Borrowers
"Borrowers' Cottage" in Hartland, North Devon, where Norton spent her final years living with her second husband, Lionel Bonsey
Mary Norton's final resting place in the graveyard of St. Nectan's Church, the parish church of Hartland, Devon. The inscription on the headstone reads: "Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumnal rain. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die". (Extract from a poem by
The Borrowers is a children's fantasy novel by the English author Mary Norton, published by Dent in 1952. It features a family of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of an English house and "borrow" from the big people in order to survive. The Borrowers also refers to the series of five novels including The Borrowers and four sequels that feature the same family after they leave "their" house.
Stanley cover of first edition
'The Cedars', Norton's home until 1921 and reportedly the setting of The Borrowers
