A complete collection of the classic Borrowers stories by Mary Norton. The Borrowers: The Borrowers own nothing at all; they live in the secret places of quiet old houses
- behind the mantelpiece, inside the harpsichord, under the kitchen clock. Everything they have is borrowed from the `human beans`, who don`t even know they exist. Arrietty`s father, Pod, is an expert Borrower
- he can scale curtains using a hatpin & bring back a doll`s teacup without breaking it. Girls aren`t supposed to go borrowing but as Arrietty is an only child her father breaks the rule. But then Arrietty makes friends with a boy
- a `human bean`
- & from that moment danger is never far away for, above all else, they must avoid the great disaster of `being seen`. The Borrowers Afield: The Pod family escape to the fields where their cousins live, but it`s a long & dangerous journey. At last they find a new home & adapt to country life. The Borrowers Afloat: Homeless again, Arrietty looks forward to a life away from the dark country cottage, to one full of sunshine. The Borrowers Aloft: The family are now living in the model village of Little Fordham
- a complete village tailored to their size. All they have to do is avoid being seen by the visitors, but one night the owner of a rival village comes with a cardboard box ready to catch them... The Borrowers Avenged: Pod, Homily & Arrietty have managed to escape with the help of Spiller. They move into the old rectory where they live happily until the Potters come looking for them. After a horrifying encounter in the church, the Potters get their just desserts & the Borrowers can live peacefully once & for all. Poor Stainless: Young Stainless, a Borrower boy, goes missing on a mission to borrow some parsley & an enormous search ensues. Mary Norton was born in 1903 & brought up in a house in Bedfordshire, which was to become the setting for The Borrowers. First published in 1952, The Borrowers was an imediate success, winning the Library Association`s Carnegie Medal. There followed four more Borrowers books: The Borrowers Afield (1955), The Borrowers Afloat (1959), The Borrowers Aloft (1961) & The Borrowers Avenged (1982). Poor Stainless was the last Borrowers story Mary Norton wrote. She died in 1992.