Utopia regained in some way or other. One way might be a quest for an "earthly paradise"—a place like Shangri-La, hidden in the Tibetan mountains and described by James Hilton in his utopian novel "Lost Horizon" (1933). Christopher Columbus followed directly in this tradition in his belief that he had found the Garden of Eden when, towards the end of the 15th century, he first encountered the New World and its indigenous inhabitants. Utopia A utopia ( ) is an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens. The opposite of a utopia is
James Hilton (novelist) next eleven years were difficult for him, and it was not until 1931 that he had success with the novel "And Now Goodbye". Following this, several of his books were international bestsellers and inspired successful film adaptations, notably "Lost Horizon" (1933), which won a Hawthornden Prize; "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1934); and "Random Harvest" (1941). After this, he continued to write, but the works were not regarded as of the same quality as his best-known novels. Hilton's books are sometimes characterised as sentimental and idealistic celebrations of English virtues. This is true of "Mr. Chips", but some of his novels had