A James Hilton Companion

The writer and Academy Award–winner James Hilton is best known as the author of Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Random Harvest as well as the novel Lost Horizon in which he invented Shangri-La—the fictional place and the utopian concept. This reference guide to the entirety of Hilton’s works—novels, short stories, nonfiction, and film adaptations—gives a detailed account of his life and literary career (including a complete chronology), a listing of his works, and a key to the important characters and locations. The main body of the text is devoted to an examination of his writing, including a section devoted to adaptations of his novels into movies.

John R. Hammond is a former research fellow at Nottingham Trent University in England. He is the secretary of the James Hilton Society and the president of the H.G. Wells Society.

John R. Hammond
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 9 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3844-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Preface      1

1. The Life of James Hilton      3
2. Novels      22
3. Short Stories      123
4. Nonfiction      135
5. Film Adaptations      147
6. Hilton and His World      191

Appendix 1: Characters and Locations      215
Appendix 2: James Hilton by Himself      233
Appendix 3: Questions for Discussion      234
Appendix 4: CDs and Audiotapes      236
Appendix 5: Hilton’s Contributions to The Leys Fortnightly      237
Appendix 6: Some Bibliographical Problems      239
Appendix 7: Other Short Works      240
Chapter Notes      243
Bibliography      249
Index      253

“a detailed synopsis of Hilton’s life, which is of great relevance and interest in understanding the character of Hilton, and is unlikely to be bettered for the foreseeable future”—The James Hilton Newsletter; “obviously a labour of love”—Reference Reviews.