Mary Norton Books in Order
14 books are credited to Mary Norton, published between 1943 and 2016; 3 of them appeared after Mary Norton's death in 1992. The first book is The Magic Bedknob (1943) and the newest is The Ministry of Flowers and Other Poems (2016). Publication order is the reading order below. 8 of the 14 books listed here are in the Borrowers series, which has its own page: Borrowers books in order.
- Books
- 14
- Published
- 1943–2016
- Pages on record
- 3,045 in 12 of 14 books
- Reading time
- 51–76 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,045 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 12 of 14 titles with a page count on record.
Mary Norton, born Kathleen Mary Pearson on 10 December 1903, was an English author of children's books who died on 29 August 1992. The Borrowers series of low fantasy novels, published from 1952 to 1982, is named after the first book and after the tiny people who live hidden among ordinary humans. The Borrowers won the 1952 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, and in 2007, the Medal's 70th anniversary, a panel named The Borrowers one of the top 10 winning works. Earlier titles include The Magic Bedknob (1943) and Bedknob and Broomstick (1947).
Arrietty, a young Borrower, is the protagonist of Mary Norton's Borrowers series, and the books follow her family's efforts to avoid being seen by the humans whose belongings they borrow.
How many Mary Norton books are there?
Mary Norton has 14 books, released between 1943 and 2016. 3 of them were published after Mary Norton's death in 1992. They include 2 series and 3 titles listed outside any series.
Mary Norton Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 14 Mary Norton books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 11943961/4
- 219471921/4
- 319521801/4
- 419552152/4
- 51957961/4
- 619591911/4
- 719612242/4
- 81966311/4
- 9196711521/4
- 10Are All the Giants Dead?1975 · 123 pages · confirmed 1/419751231/4
- 1119822982/4
- 121997–1/4
- 13The Bread and Butter Stories1998 · 247 pages · confirmed 1/419982471/4
- 14The Ministry of Flowers and Other Poems2016 · confirmed 1/42016–1/4
Mary Norton series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Borrowers books in order 8 books
Mary Norton books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks in order
3 booksStandalone books
3 books3 Mary Norton titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Mary Norton books in order?
You only need to read Mary Norton books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Mary Norton
Start with The Borrowers (1952), the first Borrowers book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Magic Bedknob (1943).
What is the newest Mary Norton book?
The Ministry of Flowers and Other Poems (2016) is the newest Mary Norton book released so far.
Is there a new Mary Norton book coming?
No next Mary Norton book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Mary Norton has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Mary Norton. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Carnegie Medal1952Wonfor The Borrowers
Mary Norton at a glance
- Died
- Mary Norton died in 1992, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Mary Norton are still being published after Mary Norton's death in 1992; the newest appeared in 2016.
- Release pace
- Mary Norton books have appeared about one every 6 years on average.
- Length
- 3,045 pages across the 12 of 14 books with a recorded length, a median of 192 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Mary Norton books, 4 of 14, were published in the 1950s.
What the Mary Norton books are about
10 of the 14 Mary Norton books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fantasy is tagged on 7 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fantasy 7 of 10 books
- Children's fiction 7 of 10 books
- Borrowers (Fictitious characters) 3 of 10 books
- England 3 of 10 books
- Adventure stories 2 of 10 books
- Family life 2 of 10 books