Originally published in 1933, ‘Lost Horizon’ is a novel by James Hilton, an English novelist best remembered for several best-sellers. This novel won Hilton the Hawthornden Prize in 1934 and was also immortalized in a movie version in 1937 by influential director Frank Capra. In it, Hilton tells the story of Hugh Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service who finds inner peace, love, and a sense of purpose in Shangri-La, an Eden-like valley high in the Himalayas in Tibet.
Said to have been inspired by reading the National Geographic Magazine articles of a botanist and ethnologist who explored the southwestern Chinese provinces and Tibetan borderlands, the name “Shangri-La” has become a by-word for a mythical utopia, a permanently happy land, isolated from the world, and one that captivated the world’s imagination—from Roosevelt naming his Maryland presidential retreat “Shangri-La” to the Zhongdian mountain region of Southwest China being renamed Shangri-La (Xianggelila).
“Hilton’s premise strikes a deep chord in today’s ‘everything is relative’ society. His utopia retains all its charm and, in his creation of Shangri-La, he added something permanently to the language”—Guardian
“Lost Horizon introduced the world to a Tibetan paradise where people live extraordinarily long lives of peace, harmony and wisdom. Expertly plotted and deftly written, Hilton’s book suggests mysteries without spelling them out – and leaves us wanting more”—New York Times