The Borrowers by Mary Norton is an English classic - and now a favourite BBC TV series too!

The Borrowers live in the secret places of quiet old houses; behind the mantelpiece, inside the harpsichord, under the kitchen clock.

They own nothing, borrow everything, and think that human beings were invented just to do the dirty work.

Arrietty's father, Pod, was an expert Borrower. He could scale curtains using a hatpin, and bring back a doll's teacup without breaking it.

Girls weren't supposed to go borrowing but as Arrietty was an only child her father broke the rule, and then something happened which changed their lives.

She made friends with the human boy living in the house...'Beautifully written, poetic and almost always alarming, the Borrowers have something very mysterious, sad and exciting about them' - Sunday TimesMary Norton was born in 1903 and brought up in a house in Bedfordshire, which was to become the setting for The Borrowers.

First published in 1952, The Borrowers was an immediate 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) and The Borrowers Avenged (1982).

Poor Stainless was the last Borrowers story Mary Norton wrote.

She died in 1992.Starring Robert Sheehan, Aisling Loftus, Christopher Ecclestone, Stephen Fry and Victoria Wood, a brand-new film for the BBC of The Borrowers will be a must-watch Christmas Day special.Film directed by Tom Harper and screenplay written by Ben Vanstone.