Lost Horizon old, the doctor had told Rutherford, "Most old of anyone I have ever seen," implying that it was Lo-Tsen, aged drastically by her departure from Shangri-La. The narrator wonders whether Conway can find his way back to his lost paradise. The book, published in 1933, caught the notice of the public only after Hilton's "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" was published in 1934. "Lost Horizon" became a huge popular success and in 1939 was published in paperback form, as Pocket Book #1. Because of its number-one position in what became a very long list of pocket editions, "Lost Horizon" is often mistakenly
James Hilton (novelist) James Hilton (novelist) James Hilton (9 September 190020 December 1954) was an English novelist best remembered for several best-sellers, including "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". He also wrote Hollywood screenplays. Born in Leigh, Lancashire, England, Hilton was the son of John Hilton, the headmaster of Chapel End School in Walthamstow. He was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge and then at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first novel and was awarded an honours degree in English literature. He started work as a journalist, first for the "Manchester Guardian", then reviewing fiction for the "Daily Telegraph". He wrote