Hilton, James (1900-1954), an English novelist, sprang to fame with Good-bye, Mr. Chips (1934). This sentimental short novel tells of a teacher in an English boys’ school. Mr. Chips brought attention to an earlier Hilton novel, Lost Horizon (1933). This work is the story of a group of people who become stranded in Shangri-La, a peaceful Tibetan mountain retreat where no one grows old. Hilton never quite repeated these early successes, though, like his earlier two novels, Random Harvest (1941) became a popular motion picture.
Hilton was born on Sept. 9, 1900, in Leigh, Lancashire. He lived in the United States from the mid-1930’s until his death. He spent most of his time in Hollywood. Hilton shared the Academy Award for best screenplay for his work on the motion picture Mrs. Miniver (1942). He died on Dec. 20, 1954.
