The writer and Oscar-winner James Hilton is best known as the author of Goodbye, Mr. Chips as well as the novel Lost Horizon in which he invented the notion of Shangri-la. This introduction to the entirety of Hilton's works, which include novels, short stories, non-fiction works, 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, followed by a chapter devoted to adaptations of his novels into movies, including Lost Horizon and Random Harvest.