James Hilton, the man who invented Shangri-La

Shangri-La, that mythical utopia, hidden away in the Himalayan mountains, is as known a name and place as is Atlantis. But Shangri-La was invented by James Hilton less than one hundred years ago.

One of the many ways people envision Shangri-La

James Hilton wrote twenty novels, eight short stories and seven screenplays (and was awarded with an Oscar for one of them. As happened so often in the thirties and forties, Hollywood lured writers to join the movie factories - and Hilton joined the throngs in 1935. He seems to have been a genuinely decent human being, who’s life was cut short when he died of cancer in 1954, just fifty-four years old.

I’ve been a fan of Hilton since reading Lost Horizon (1933) for the first time. The writing, the characters, the setting (Shangri-La!) and, of course, the overarching philosophy were - and remain to this day - hugely appealing. If you haven’t read it - let me just say that moderation plays a big role - and I wish Hilton, a heavy smoker, had taken the teachings of Shangri-La to heart.

It didn’t take long for Hilton to follow up on the success of Lost Horizon, this time with a novella about school teacher Mr. Chipping, Mr. Chips, as the boys call him. Goodbye, Mr. Chips is another tale that, not unlike Lost Horizon, goes to the heart of what Hilton thinks we should strive for - human kindness. With it come decency, with it come tolerance and acceptance, with it comes an all-encompassing appreciation for life. Mr. Chips lives a stationary life, the same school, his entire life. His wife dies young, there are no children of their own. But Mr. Chips, with kindness and humor, makes a lasting impression in the lives of thousands of boys. It received a beautiful Hollywood treatment, with a wonderfully whimsical performance by Robert Donat.

I’ve then read Random Harvest - (which was also turned into a very successful film) the story of a good man, a kind and wealthy man, who lives in the knowledge that a time of his past is shrouded in mystery. Having lost his memory of a time after WWI, the novel reveals, bit by bit, what happened, how it happened, whom he met - and thus we discover how he became the man we meet in the novel ... there's a bit of a twist in there, but not much of one. Overall, it is that, a gentle tale. A tale about a man who happens to be in place, and with people, and since he's kind and always willing to help, good things happen time and time again … makes you wish that this were the norm in the world, right?

I’ve just finished reading The Morning Journey, Hilton’s penultimate novel, written in 1951. I didn’t particularly like it, I’m afraid. It is a meandering tale of an Irish actress who falls in love with an egomaniac who also happens to be a gifted director. While actress Carey Arundel is an all around decent and lovable human being, director Paul Saffron is so uncompromisingly selfish that even The Fountainhead’s Howard Roark seem pleasant next to him.

There you have it. His later works no longer received equal recognition. Some said his work were no longer of the same quality … I don’t know about that. Even Morning Journey is well crafted, the writing is solid, the characters strong. Maybe, just maybe, a more cynical (some might say more clearheaded) view of the world grew in him just as the cancer did. The aforementioned egomaniac sure seems to take the lead in the novel, with the heroine going along as second fiddle. Did that happen in Hilton’s life? Did real life, real people, Hollywood and all, wear away the strength of the assured kindness of his earlier novels?

Be that as it may, he died young - Geez, I’m already six years older! - but he accomplished a great deal in that time. I often wonder about contentment (more so than happiness). Was he content? Would he have left a long, Mr. Chips-sort of life, had he not gone to Hollywood? But then it’s always easy to blame Hollywood for any and everything, just as it’s never fruitful to ask questions that will never be answered … then again, sometimes, by asking such questions, we can learn for ourselves. Hilton’s novels are filled with kindness and contentment. Should you ever feel in need for a bit more of those, do yourself a favor and pick up one of James Hilton’s novels.