James Hilton
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I thought Lost Horizon was an ok book. There were certainly appealing aspects
of Shangri-La, and the story was decently written, but Hilton tends to
overemphasize certain ideas that the reader is already aware of. For example,
the part about Conway enjoying the combination of mental clarity and physical
ease at Shangri-La is restated at least twice, which was unnecessary and
redundant. Also, there was a general lack of emotion in the book, and the ending
did not make sense to me. If Conway cared about Shangri-La that much and had
truly accepted the role of High Lama, why would he leave just for Mallinson, one
man? If it is because he cared deeply about Mallinson, the book failed to
show the reason why he cared. Perhaps he left because he loved Lo-Tsen, but
she was in love with Mallinson(which I personally do not understand at all; he
came across as a stuck-up, whining brat). Either way, the ending was quite
a disappointment.
>>By Josie Smith (Thursday, 8 May 2003 22:50)
hai, i'm working on LH for my research project, and i can tell u that he is one ofthe best and the most subtle writers that have writen in the 1930s. so if u dont mind can u please stop calling all these bad names without actually reading the stuff.
>>By krishna (Wednesday, 14 May 2003 10:16)
I thought that Lost Horizon and Goodbye Mr.Chips were great books when I read them awhile back. If anyone read Random Harvest do you see a conncetion in the three novels either in theme or characters. Also, refresh my memory of Goodbye Mr.Chips... Its been awhile. Way to go James Hilton ---what an awesome writer!
>>By Katie (Wednesday, 14 May 2003 22:37)
I'm a translator,I intend to translate "Lost horizon" into Chinese.It's such a great book,I think chinese will love this book too.Anyone knows about the copyright situation for the book?
>>By Liu Xiaofeng (Friday, 16 May 2003 14:52)
I think Lost Horizon is a great book, but not the greatest one. Shangrila is a peaceful world without any passion, it is a mental condition just like nirvana, but even in the novel it can not be avoid from jealousy,conflict, suspicion,etc. So as a human survive in this target-setting society, shangrila only exists in the dream, mind and tome. But it can do help people recall the faded faith and introspect their ironical lives.
>>By sweetnsourgirl13 (Sunday, 18 May 2003 21:39)
lost horizon is by far the best book i have ever read. conway leaves when he realizes ha may have been lied to by the high lama. Shangra-la was an attractive place but when Mallinson takes it apart piece by piece in the end, Conway realizes he may have been duped. When he finds out Lo-Tsen was intimate with Mallinson, the illusion crimbles
>>By hilton fan (Monday, 19 May 2003 22:20)
hai, goodbye mr chipps is the story of a school teacher called chippy who after spendind half his life as a bachelor falls in love while on a trekking trip. he marries the girl, but she dies during the war. he goes on to become the head master of his school -- a dream fulfilled -- during the II world war. he lives on near the campus after his retirement. the novel ends on a poignant note with his death. check out peter o' toole's brilliant acting in the musical of the same name (a loose adaptation).
hope this answers your question Katie.
thank you folks for not abusing jh
>>By krishna (Monday, 26 May 2003 08:18)
I have read three books of James Hilton,The Lost Horizon, Good Bye Mr. Chips and Time and Time again.Though the first two are well known I found time and Time again a very enjoyable book. It is about an ordinary man in the diplomatic service who goes through some events in his life which all of us can identify with. Some of the chapters are titled 'nothing much to complain about' ' run of the mill' and so on. I strongly recommend this book to James Hilton fans.
>>By S.Jagdish (Wednesday, 28 May 2003 14:19)
hey
whats tthe story of time and time again?
>>By comeon299 (Tuesday, 17 Jun 2003 08:26)
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the term Shangri-la does originate from Hilton's novel, Lost Horizon.
>>By N. Leon (Monday, 23 Jun 2003 06:50)
James Hilton - great writer, great man. One of his ideas seems to be that of the 'randomness' of events - things happen in his novels which look as though they are accidents or coincidences, but ultimately they may lead to further enlightenment for his characters. These random events lead to inner growth and greater good, as for example Charles Rainer's search for his identity both figuratively and literally in 'Random Harvest' and Robert Conway's search for peace, love and enlightenment in 'Lost Horizon'.
Does anybody know why James Hilton died at such a tragically young age?
>>By Jay (Monday, 23 Jun 2003 14:29)
Did James Hilton know W.Somerset Maugham? they were writing the same time. I believe he did visit the Villa Mauresque...... Cilla
>>By Cilla (Friday, 4 Jul 2003 04:27)
W. Somerset Maugham greatly influenced Hilton's writing style. It's evident when you compare their work; in fact , Hilton mention Maugham as an influence many times in the mid 1930's. As a prolific writer of letters, I'm sure Hilton "met" Maugham (at least through the post!). Hilton died of liver cancer. Hilton had an extraordinarily beautiful writing style . A book that should not go unmentioned is "And Now Good-bye"[1931]. It was, up to that time, the only book that pleased him and met his personal standards. Here's one of my favorite passages, in all of Hilton, from "And Now Good-Bye":
"How short life was, and how brief the moments in it that really mattered! Nor could the framework of years enclose such divine fragments; they were timeless, notes in the never-finished symphony of the world." After "Lost Horizon," I'd say this is his best book (and I believe he'd agree...he was very fond of "And Now Good-Bye"). I've read all of Hilton's books and a great number of his short stories, essays and speeches. Other great reads are: "The Passionate Year," "The Silver Flame," "Contango,""We are Not Alone," and "Terry" (which was the birthplace of "Lost Horizon"). Along with my colleague Kurt Kausler, I wrote the introduction to the just-released (and first) reprint of Hilton's "Storm Passage" (the most elusive Hilton title and his second novel that was published in 1922 ). For ordering info email George A. Vanderburgh (the publisher) : gav@bmts.com
Soon, we'll be reprinting "The Silver Flame" with other novels and collected short fiction to follow.... I wrote, and narrated, the "Lost Horizon" photo-documentary that appears on the Columbia Classics DVD. I hope you'll give the DVD a spin!
Cheers to all!
Kendall Miller
>>By horizonfound (Thursday, 10 Jul 2003 00:48)
If as you say he was influenced by Maugham I wonder if James Hilton is the author mentioned in Ted Morgan's biography of Maugham, I hope not!!
>>By cilla (Friday, 11 Jul 2003 06:02)
What I meant was a young writer was mention in Maugham's autobiography in the company of Alec Waugh and his brother, Evelyn no name was given to the young writer who made a name for himself writing about the goings on amongst the staff at an English boys' school.
>>By cilla (Saturday, 12 Jul 2003 00:55)
I saw the original "Goodbye M. Chips" in the early '50's (while at a boys school.
Boy could I relate to some of the events and people in that movie! I understand that it has been 'remade' quite recently.
Has anyone written the definitive bio of Hilton??? I need info on him for a lecture later in the year (2003).
Bruce.
>>By Bruce (Tuesday, 15 Jul 2003 10:18)
I've posted everything on James Hilton that I could find on a blog page, http://www.herr-rau.de/archiv/000011.html - most of the page is in German, though. There is a list of his books, scripts, and radio versions of his work. I've read and enjoyed most of Hilton's books; I like the recurrent theme of people discovering that there is more to a story than the public (or they themselves) are aware of.
I'm especially fond of "And Now Good-Bye": I once read the first chapter in a youth hostel, it tells of a young reverend who heroically tries to save passengers from a burning carriage in a train accident. He has to be forcibly stopped from putting his life in danger; not all passengers can be saved. Reading this chapter, you know, you just know, that there is more to the story, that there was some particular person in the carriage.
It took me close to ten years to find out the title of this book, to hunt it up and to find out the rest of the story, which is told in retrospective. Well worth the wait.
>>By HerrRau (Sunday, 23 May 2004 09:11)
Greetings one and all,
My nickname is Hugh. I am a big fan of James Hilton and consider him to be the finest
novelist and screenwriter I have ever come across. I especially love his novel
"Lost Horizon" and the two adaptations of that book to the silver screen, in 1937 and 1973 respectively. The 1973 film version is my all time favorite movie.
I can recommend two websites www.jameshiltonsociety.co.uk and
www.losthorizon.org . I am a member of the James Hilton Society, which is headquartered in England. However, I live in the Northeastern United States. My personal E-mail address is benjaminjemerson@yahoo.com.
Does anyone happen to know what RELIGION James Hilton was? My first guess would be the Church of England (Anglican). However, my second guess would be Roman Catholic, since there are several Catholic references in "Lost Horizon." Also, is there any
video footage of James Hilton available, such as from the 1942 Academy Awards? Are there any lectures about or by James Hilton available on audiocassette or videotape please?
Also, I am trying to obtain on Video the 1956 Broadway musical version of "Lost Horizon."
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
I would enjoy getting E-mail messages from any of the relatives of James Hilton.
Also, I am trying to find the E-mail addresses of some James Hilton heavyweights like
Kurt Kausler and Kendall Miller. If you know these E-mail addresses, please send me
a private E-mail at benjaminjemerson@yahoo.com . Thank you very much.
Long live Shangri-La! Bye.
>>By Hugh (Sunday, 15 May 2005 20:42)
Just as a point of trivia I used to live in the house previously inhabited by the great man - it is in Snaresbrook East London and now bears his name. It also has one of the 'blue plaques' which singfies that someone of note once lived at a particular address.
>>By Dogstar (Friday, 24 Jun 2005 13:34)
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