Editing James Hilton (novelist)

{{Short description|British novelist and screenwriter (1900–1954)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox writer
| name          = James Hilton
| image         = James Hilton 7.jpg
| caption       = Publicity portrait of Hilton
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1900|9|9|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]], [[Lancashire]], {{nowrap|England, U.K.}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1954|12|20|1900|9|9|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Long Beach, California]], U.S.
| citizenship   = {{hlist|United Kingdom|United States}}
| alma_mater    = [[Christ's College, Cambridge]]
| occupation    = {{hlist|Novelist|screenwriter}}
| genre         = {{hlist|Fantasy|adventure novel|mainstream fiction}}
| spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Alice Brown|1935|1937|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Galina Kopernak]]|1937|1945|end=divorced}}
}}
}}

'''James Hilton''' (9 September 1900 – 20 December 1954) was a British-American<ref name="Buckley2008"/> novelist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for his novels ''[[Lost Horizon]]'', ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'' and ''[[Random Harvest]]'', as well as co-writing screenplays for the films ''[[Camille (1936 film)|Camille]]'' (1936) and ''[[Mrs. Miniver]]'' (1942), the latter earning him an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]].

== Early life and education ==
Hilton was born in [[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]], [[Lancashire]], the son of John Hilton, the headmaster of Chapel End School in [[Walthamstow]]. He was educated at the [[Monoux School]] [[Walthamstow]] until 1914, then [[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.<ref>Biographical Note on dust jacket of Dawn of Reckoning, Penguin Books, 1937.</ref> He started work as a journalist, first for the ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'', then reviewing fiction for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''.<ref name="Times-1954-Dec-22">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=Mr. James Hilton|department=Obituaries|date=22 December 1954|page=10|issue=53121}}</ref>

== Career ==
Hilton's first novel, ''Catherine Herself,'' was published in 1920 when he was still an undergraduate.<ref name="Times-1954-Dec-22"/> The next 11 years were difficult for him, and it was not until 1931 that he had success with the novel ''And Now Goodbye''.<ref name="Times-1954-Dec-22"/> 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 better-known novels.<ref name="Times-1954-Dec-22"/>

Hilton's books are sometimes characterised as sentimental and idealistic celebrations of English virtues.<ref>I. Scott, ''In Capra's Shadow'' (2006) p. 252</ref> This is true of ''Mr. Chips'', but some of his novels had a darker side. Flaws in the English society of his time—particularly narrow-mindedness and class-consciousness—were frequently his targets. His novel ''[[We Are Not Alone (novel)|We Are Not Alone]]'', despite its inspirational-sounding title, is a grim story of legally approved lynching brought on by wartime hysteria in Britain.

[[Sigmund Freud]], an early admirer despite his tepid reaction to ''The Meadows of the Moon'', came to conclude that Hilton had wasted his talent by being too prolific.<ref>Peter Gay, ''Freud'' (1989) p. 608</ref>

From 1948 to 1952, Hilton was also host of one of radio's prestige drama anthologies, ''[[Hallmark Playhouse]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Hallmark-Playhouse.html |title= The Definitive Hallmark Playhouse Radio Log |access-date= 29 January 2018 |archive-date= 26 August 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180826004122/http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Hallmark-Playhouse.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> He also presented six episodes of ''[[Ceiling Unlimited]]'' (1943) and hosted ''The Hallmark Playhouse'' (1948–1953) for [[CBS Radio]].<ref>D. Daiches ed., ''The Penguin Companion to Literature 1'' (1971) p. 254</ref>

===''Lost Horizon''===
First published in 1933, this novel won Hilton the [[Hawthornden Prize]] in 1934.<ref name="Times-1934-Jun-13">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=The Hawthornden Prize – Award to Author of "Lost Horizon"|department=News|date=13 June 1934|page=13|issue=46779}}</ref> Later, [[Pocket Books]], which pioneered the publication of small, soft-cover, inexpensive books, picked ''[[Lost Horizon]]'' as its first title in 1939. For that reason, the novel is frequently called the book that began the "paperback revolution."

Hilton is said to have been inspired to write ''Lost Horizon'', and to invent "[[Shangri-La]]", by reading the ''[[National Geographic]]'' articles of [[Joseph Rock]], an [[Austrian-American]] [[botanist]] and [[ethnologist]] exploring the southwestern Chinese provinces and [[Tibet]]an borderlands. Still living in Britain at the time, Hilton was perhaps influenced by the Tibetan travel articles of early travelers in Tibet whose writings were found in the British Library.<ref>Michael Buckley ''Shangri-La: A Travel Guide to the Himalayan Dream'', Bradt Travel Guides, Chalfont St. Peter 2008, p37</ref> Christian Zeeman, the [[Danes|Danish]] father of the [[mathematician]] [[Christopher Zeeman]], has also been claimed to be the model for the hero of the story. He disappeared while living in Japan (where his son was born in 1925), and was reputed to be living incognito in a [[Zen Buddhist]] monastery.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

Some say that the isolated valley town of [[Weaverville, California]], in far-northern [[Trinity County, California|Trinity County]], was a source, but this is the result of a misinterpretation of a comment by Hilton in a 1941 interview, in which he said that Weaverville reminded him of Shangri-La.<ref>S. Benson, ''Lonely Planet California'' (2010) p. 325</ref> Coincidentally, [[Junction City, California|Junction City]] (about 8 miles from Weaverville) now has a [[Tibetan Buddhist]] centre with the occasional Tibetan monks in [[saffron]] robes.

The name "[[Shangri-La]]" has become a byword for a mythical [[utopia]], a permanently happy land, isolated from the world. After the [[Doolittle Raid]] on Tokyo, when the fact that the bombers had flown from an aircraft carrier remained highly classified, U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] told the press facetiously that they had taken off from Shangri-La. The Navy subsequently gave that name to an [[USS Shangri-La|aircraft carrier]], and Roosevelt named his presidential retreat in Maryland Shangri-La. (Later, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] renamed the retreat [[Camp David]] after his grandson, and that name has been used for it ever since.) [[Zhongdian]], a mountain region in the northwest of Yunnan province China, has been renamed Shangri-La (Xianggelila), based on its claim to have inspired Hilton's book.<ref>Chapter 4 "Shangri-La: A Travel Guide to the Himalayan Dream". Michael Buckley, Bradt Travel Guides, Chalfont St. Peter 2008</ref>

===''Goodbye, Mr. Chips''===
[[William Henry Balgarnie|W.H. Balgarnie]], a master at The Leys School, Cambridge and Hilton's father, headmaster of Chapel End School in [[Walthamstow]], were the inspirations for the character of Mr. Chipping in ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'', a best-seller. Hilton first sent the material to ''[[The Atlantic]]'', and the magazine printed it as a short story in April 1934. On 8 June, it was published as a book. Four months later it appeared as a book in Britain.

== Personal life ==
Hilton wrote his two best remembered books, ''[[Lost Horizon]]'' and ''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'', while living in a house at 42 Oak Hill Gardens, in [[Woodford Green]] in east London. The house still stands, with a [[blue plaque]] marking Hilton's residence. By 1938, he had moved to California, and his work became more connected with the Hollywood film industry.<ref name="Times-1954-Dec-22"/>

He married Alice Brown, a secretary at the BBC, just before they left for the United States in 1935, but they divorced in 1937.<ref name="Buckley2008">{{cite book|author=Michael Buckley|title=Shangri-La: A Practical Guide to the Himalayan Dream|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pwfpdmnfw7IC&pg=PA28|year=2008|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-204-0|page=24}}</ref> The same year, he married actress [[Galina Kopernak]], but they divorced eight years later.<ref name="JameshiltonsocietyBiography">{{cite web|url=http://www.jameshiltonsociety.co.uk/index.php/biography|title=Biography|publisher=jameshiltonsociety.co.uk|access-date=16 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319104944/http://www.jameshiltonsociety.co.uk/index.php/biography|archive-date=19 March 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> He became an American citizen in 1948.<ref name="Buckley2008"/>

== Death ==
A heavy smoker, Hilton had various health problems when he made a farewell visit to England in 1954, and in December he died at his home in [[Long Beach, California]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-28 |title=Author James Hilton’s final, quiet decade in Long Beach |url=https://www.presstelegram.com/2016/09/28/author-james-hiltons-final-quiet-decade-in-long-beach/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=Press Telegram |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Grobaty |first=Tim |date=2018-08-09 |title=It's Book Lovers Day. Here are 9 Long Beach authors, past and present, to love |url=https://lbpost.com/hi-lo/art/long-beach-authors-book-lovers-day/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=the Hi-lo |language=en-US}}</ref> from [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]], with his reconciled former wife Alice at his side.<ref name="Buckley2008"/> His obituary in ''[[The Times]]'' describes him as "a modest and retiring man for all his success; he was a keen mountaineer and enjoyed music and travel."<ref name="Times-1954-Dec-22"/> He was buried at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Long Beach)]]. After his wife Alice Brown Hilton died in 1962, his remains were reinterred at Knollkreg Memorial Park (Abingdon, [[Virginia]]).

== Works ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Novels===
*''Catherine Herself'' (1920) [https://books.google.com/books?id=2dQqixU4fBcC online text from books.google]
*''Storm Passage'' (1922)
*''The Passionate Year'' (1924) [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Passionate_Year.html?id=PyZFAAAAIAAJ online text at books.google] [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/68676/68676-h/68676-h.htm online text from Project Gutenberg]
*''Dawn of Reckoning'' (U.S. title: ''Rage in Heaven'') (1925) [https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.241536/page/n3/mode/2up online text at archive.org]
*''Meadows of the Moon'' (1926)
*''Terry'' (1927)
*''[[The Silver Flame]]'' (U.S. title: ''Three Loves Had Margaret'') (1928)
*''[[Murder at School]]'' (U.S. title: ''Was It Murder?''), published under the pen-name [[Glen Trevor]] (1931)
*''And Now Goodbye'' (1931)
*''Contango'' (''Ill Wind'') (1932)
* ''[[Rage in Heaven (novel)|Rage in Heaven]]'' (1932)
*''[[Knight Without Armour (novel)|Knight Without Armour]]'' (U.S. title: ''Without Armor'') (1933)
*''[[Lost Horizon]]'' (1933)
*''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'' (1934)
*''[[We Are Not Alone (novel)|We Are Not Alone]]'' (1937)
*''[[Random Harvest]]'' (1941)
*''So Well Remembered'' (1945)
*''Nothing So Strange'' (1947)
*''[[Morning Journey]]'' (1951)
*''Time and Time Again'' (1953)

===Non-fiction===
*''Mr. Chips Looks at the World'' (1939)
*''[[The Story of Dr. Wassell]]'' (1944)
*''H.R.H.: The Story of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh'' (1956)

{{col-3}}

===Short stories===
*"The Failure" (1924)
*"Twilight of the Wise," published as a novella in 1949 (1936)
*"The Bat King" (1937)
*"It's a Crazy World" (1937)
*"From Information Received" (1938)
*"The Girl Who Got There" (1938)
*''To You, Mr Chips!'' (collection) (1938)
*"You Can't Touch Dotty" (1938)

===Plays===
*''And Now Goodbye'' (with Philip Howard) (1937)
*''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (with Barbara Burnham) (1938)

===Screenplays===
*''[[Camille (1936 film)|Camille]]'' (1936)
*''[[We Are Not Alone (1939 film)|We Are Not Alone]]'' (1939)
*''Lights Out in Europe'' (1940)
*''[[Foreign Correspondent (film)|Foreign Correspondent]]'' (dialogue) (1940)
*''[[The Tuttles of Tahiti]]'' (1942)
*''[[Mrs. Miniver]]'' (1942)
*''[[Forever and a Day (1943 film)|Forever and a Day]]'' (collaboration) (1943)

{{col-end}}

==Adaptations and sequels of his works==
Some of Hilton's novels were filmed:
*''[[Lost Horizon]]'' ([[Lost Horizon (1937 film)|1937]], [[Lost Horizon (1973 film)|1973]])
*''[[Knight Without Armour]]'' (1937)
*''[[We Are Not Alone (1939 film)|We Are Not Alone]]'' (1939) with a screenplay by Hilton
*''[[Goodbye, Mr. Chips#Adaptations|Goodbye, Mr. Chips]]'' ([[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)|1939]], [[Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)|1969]], 1984, 2002)
*''[[Rage in Heaven]]'' (1941)
*''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]'' (1942), reprised on radio in 1943
*''[[The Story of Dr. Wassell]]'' (1944), starring Gary Cooper
*''[[So Well Remembered]]'' (1947) starring [[John Mills]] and narrated by Hilton

Hilton co-wrote the book and lyrics for ''[[Shangri-La (musical)|Shangri-La]]'', a disastrous 1956 Broadway musical adaptation of ''Lost Horizon''.

There is one sequel to ''Lost Horizon'' titled ''Shangri-La'' and written by Eleanor Cooney and Daniel Altieri. It was licensed by the publisher [[William Morrow and Company|William Morrow]] (an imprint of [[HarperCollins]]) and approved by the heirs to the Hilton Estate, Elizabeth Hill and Mary Porterfield. ''Shangri-La'' continues James Hilton's tale, moving it forward in time to the [[Cultural Revolution]] of the 1960s and from there travelling back to the 1930s. In addition to its U.S. publication, the novel was further published in Germany, France, Spain and Portugal and Poland and (Eastern Europe)<ref>Powrot do Szangri-la Antykwariat-Ksiegania Regionalna</ref> was a ''New York Times'' Notable Book.<ref>The New York Times, 1996 "...Subtle and beautiful." (date of review needs researching)</ref>

==Memorials==
A furore was caused in the late 1990s, when [[Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council|Wigan Council]] (the Metropolitan Borough responsible for Leigh) announced that a [[blue plaque]] in honour of Hilton would be placed not on his house in Wilkinson Street, but on the town hall. This caused great debate amongst the populace of Leigh, which considered it more appropriate to have it on the house itself, which is only a few hundred yards from the town hall. Subsequently, in 2013, a blue plaque was affixed to his birthplace at 26 Wilkinson Street.<ref name="Leighjournal10262500">{{cite web|url=https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/news/10262500.blue-plaque-erected-in-leigh-honour-of-goodbye-mr-chips-author-james-hilton/|title=Blue plaque erected in Leigh honour of Goodbye Mr Chips author James Hilton|date=2013-03-01|website=Leigh Journal|access-date=2020-02-27}}</ref>

In 1997, a blue plaque was erected on the wall of 42 Oakhill Gardens, [[Woodford Green]],<ref name="English-HeritageJames">{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/james-hilton/|title=James Hilton &#124; Novelist &#124; Blue Plaques|website=English Heritage|access-date=2020-02-27}}</ref> the modest semi-detached house in which Hilton was living with his parents from 1921.<ref name="PDF-831089575">{{cite web|url=http://theydon.org.uk/lhs/Downloads/LHS%20News%20197.pdf|publisher=Loughton and District Historical Society|work=Newsletter 197|title=James Hilton (1900–1954)|author=Terry Carter|date=12 March 2013|access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref>

James Hilton should not be confused with the Leigh businessman of the same name who became chairman of [[Leigh Centurions|Leigh Rugby League Football Club]] after the war and after whom the club's former ground, [[Hilton Park (stadium)|Hilton Park]] (1947–2009), was named.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Roland Green in American Library Association (ALA) Booklist, 1996 (mo.?)
*Shangri-La, Kirkus Reviews Issue 15 Feb. 1996
*Shangri-La: Morrow/ Harper Collins/ pub. 1 May. 1996 Lib. Cong. 0-688-12872-6

==External links==
{{Commons category|James Hilton}}
*[https://www.jameshiltonsociety.co.uk/ James Hilton Society] (June 2009)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091115074251/http://www.jameshiltonsociety.co.uk/ James Hilton Society Archived Website] (June 2009)
*{{IMDb name|id=0385264|name=James Hilton}}
* {{Find a Grave|20028}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Hilton, James|name=James Hilton|author=yes}}
* [http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-a-m.html#hilton Works by James Hilton] at [http://gutenberg.net.au Project Gutenberg Australia]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182102/http://www.losthorizon.org/ Lost Horizon: NonProfit Fan Club of James Hilton's Book and Inspired Arts]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname= James Hilton}}

{{James Hilton}}
{{AcademyAwardBestAdaptedScreenplay 1941-1960}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilton, James}}
[[Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at The Leys School]]
[[Category:People from Leigh, Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver cancer in California]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:English male screenwriters]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English screenwriters]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Long Beach)]]