Lost world Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" (1838) has certain lost world elements towards the end of the tale. James Hilton's "Lost Horizon" (1933) enjoyed popular success in using the genre as a takeoff for popular philosophy and social comment. It introduced the name Shangri-La, a meme for the idealization of the lost world as a paradise. Similar books where the inhabitants of the lost world are seen as superior to the outsiders, are Joseph O'Neill's "Land under England" (1935) and Douglas Valder Duff's "Jack Harding’s Quest" (1939). Hergé also explores the theme in his comics "The Seven Crystal Balls" and "Prisoners
Lost Horizon (1973 film) has not improved since. It was selected for inclusion in the book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time", co-written by critic Michael Medved, and is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie Movie Guide" as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. The film was also a box office bomb, losing an estimated $51 million. This musical version is much closer to the 1937 film than to the original James Hilton novel. It tells the story of a group of travellers whose aeroplane is hijacked while fleeing a bloody revolution. The