Mary Norton (author)
Encyclopedia
The Borrowers
The Borrowers, published in 1952, is the first in a series of children's fantasy novels by English author Mary Norton. The novel and its sequels are about tiny people who live in people's homes and "borrow" things to survive while keeping their existence unknown...
series.
Background
Norton was the daughter of a physician, and was raised in a Georgian house at the end of the High Street in Leighton BuzzardLeighton Buzzard
-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...
. The house now consists of part of Leighton Middle School, known within the school as The Old House, and was reportedly the setting of her novel The Borrowers
The Borrowers
The Borrowers, published in 1952, is the first in a series of children's fantasy novels by English author Mary Norton. The novel and its sequels are about tiny people who live in people's homes and "borrow" things to survive while keeping their existence unknown...
. She married Robert Charles Norton on 4 September 1946 and had four children, two boys and two girls. Her second husband was Lionel Boncey, whom she married in 1970. She began working for the War Office in 1940 before the family moved temporarily to the United States.
She began writing while working for the British Purchasing Commission
British Purchasing Commission
The British Purchasing Commission was a United Kingdom organization of the Second World War.Also known at some time as the "Anglo-French Purchasing Board", it was based in New York City, where it arranged the production and purchase of armaments from North American manufacturers.The Board was able...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
during the Second World War. Her first book was The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons published in 1943, which, together with the sequel Bonfires and Broomsticks, became the basis for the Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
film Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a 1971 musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company which combines live action and animation and was released in North America on December 13, 1971...
.
Norton died of a heart attack in Bideford, Devon, England on 29 August 1992.
Works
- The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons (1943)
- Bonfires and Broomsticks (1945)
- The BorrowersThe BorrowersThe Borrowers, published in 1952, is the first in a series of children's fantasy novels by English author Mary Norton. The novel and its sequels are about tiny people who live in people's homes and "borrow" things to survive while keeping their existence unknown...
(1952) - The Borrowers AfieldThe Borrowers AfieldThe Borrowers Afield is a children's fantasy novel by Mary Norton, published in 1955. It is the second book in the five part The Borrowers series, preceded by The Borrowers and then followed by The Borrowers Afloat , The Borrowers Aloft and The Borrowers Avenged The Borrowers Afield is a...
(1955) - The Borrowers AfloatThe Borrowers AfloatThe Borrowers Afloat is a children's fantasy novel by Mary Norton, published in 1959. It is the third book in the five part The Borrowers series, preceded by The Borrowers and The Borrowers Afield...
(1959) - The Borrowers AloftThe Borrowers AloftThe Borrowers Aloft is a children's fantasy novel by Mary Norton, published in 1961. It is the fourth book in the five part The Borrowers series, preceded by The Borrowers , The Borrowers Afield and The Borrowers Afloat...
(1961) - Are All the Giants Dead? (1975)
- The Borrowers AvengedThe Borrowers AvengedThe Borrowers Avenged is a children's fantasy novel by Mary Norton, published in 1982. It is the final book in the five part The Borrowers series. The Borrowers Avenged was written more than 20 years after the previous book, The Borrowers Aloft and is also longer than the others in the series at...
(1982)
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Norton's novels The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons and Bonfires and Broomsticks were adapted into the 1971 Disney film Bedknobs and BroomsticksBedknobs and Broomsticks
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a 1971 musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company which combines live action and animation and was released in North America on December 13, 1971...
, starring Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
and David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
.
There have been several screen adaptations of The Borrowers:
- The BorrowersThe Borrowers (1973 film)The Borrowers is a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV special first broadcast in 1973 on NBC. This made for television special is adapted from the 1952 Carnegie Medal Award winning first novel of author Mary Norton's The Borrowers series: The Borrowers. The film stars Eddie Albert, Tammy Grimes and Judith...
: a 1973 AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
made-for-TVTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
movieFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. - The BorrowersThe Borrowers (TV miniseries)The Borrowers is a BBC TV miniseries first broadcast in 1992 on BBC2 and then later on American television station TNT. The miniseries is adapted from the 1952 Carnegie Medal Award winning first novel and second novel of author Mary Norton's The Borrowers series: The Borrowers and The Borrowers...
: a 1992 BBC TV series and its 1993 sequel The Return of the BorrowersThe Return of the BorrowersThe Return of the Borrowers is a BBC TV miniseries first broadcast in 1993 on BBC2 and then later on American television station TNT. The miniseries is adapted from the third and fourth novels of author Mary Norton's The Borrowers series: The Borrowers Afloat and The Borrowers Aloft,...
, both starring Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
and Penelope WiltonPenelope WiltonPenelope Alice Wilton, OBE is an English actress.-Life and career:Penelope Alice Wilton was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, to a former actress mother and a businessman father. She is a niece of actors Bill Travers and Linden Travers and a cousin of the actor Richard Morant...
. - The BorrowersThe Borrowers (1997 film)The Borrowers is a 1997 film based on the children's novel of the same name by author Mary Norton. In 1998 it was nominated for the title of Best British Film in the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, but lost to Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth...
: a 1997 film with a British/American cast including Tom FeltonTom FeltonThomas Andrew "Tom" Felton is an English actor and musician. He is best known for playing the role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series, the movie adaptations of the best-selling Harry Potter fantasy novels by author J. K...
, John GoodmanJohn GoodmanJohn Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
, Jim BroadbentJim BroadbentJames "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
, Celia ImrieCelia ImrieCelia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
and Mark WilliamsMark Williams (actor)Mark Williams is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and presenter. He is best known as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show, as well as for his role as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films....
. - The Secret World of Arrietty: a 2010 Japanese animatedAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film from Studio GhibliStudio Ghibliis a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
. - The BorrowersThe Borrowers (2011 film)The Borrowers is an upcoming 2011 British television film. The film is to star Stephen Fry, Christopher Eccleston and Victoria Wood and will be the latest of several film and television adaptations of Mary Norton's 1955 juvenile fantasy novel The Borrowers.-Cast:* Stephen Fry as Professor Mildeye*...
: a 2011 British film starring Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Victoria WoodVictoria WoodVictoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
and Christopher EcclestonChristopher EcclestonChristopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
.
There have also been numerous theatrical adaptations of The Borrowers.