The Borrowers
Stanley cover of first edition
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| Author | Mary Norton |
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| Illustrator | Diana L. Stanley (first) Beth and Joe Krush (US) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Borrowers |
| Genre | Children's fantasy novel |
| Publisher | J. M. Dent (first); Harcourt, Brace (US) |
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Publication date
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1952 (first) 1953 (US) |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 159pp (first); 180pp (US) |
| OCLC | 7557055 |
| LC Class | PZ7.N8248 Bd 1952 |
| Followed by | The Borrowers Afield |
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 (The Borrowers and four sequels) that feature the same family after they leave "their" house.
The Borrowers won the 1952 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's outstanding children's book by a British author. In the 70th anniversary celebration of the medal in 2007 it was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite.
Harcourt, Brace and Company published it in the U.S. in 1953 with illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush. There have been several adaptations of The Borrowers in television and film.
All five Borrowers novels feature a family surnamed Clock: Pod, Homily, Arrietty. In the first book they live in a house reportedly based on The Cedars where Norton was raised. The sequels are titled alliteratively and alphabetically: The Borrowers Afield (1955), The Borrowers Afloat (1959), The Borrowers Aloft (1961), and The Borrowers Avenged (1982). All were originally published by J. M. Dent in hardcover editions.Puffin Books published a 700-page trade paperback omnibus edition in 1983, The Complete Borrowers Stories with a short introduction by Norton.
The primary cause of trouble and source of plot is the interaction between the minuscule Borrowers and the "human beans", whether the human motives are kind or selfish. The main character is teenage Arrietty, who often begins relationships with Big People that have chaotic effects on the lives of herself and her family, causing her parents to react with fear and worry.
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