48 pages • 1 hour read
Lost Horizon
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Lost Horizon by James Hilton is a utopian novel that introduces the fictional setting of Shangri-La, which would feature in several later utopian works of fiction by other writers. Originally published in 1933, the book was adapted for the screen in 1937 and 1973, as well as for television in 1997. The novel won the Hawthornden Prize, a cash prize awarded for imaginative fiction, and it became an international bestseller under Pocket Books, sometimes credited with increasing the popularity of paperback works. Hilton drew from his own criticism of the English imperial mindset, highlighting the racism and classism of British imperialism. His inspiration for the Tibetan setting of the novel came from articles and travel works he read on the area. The novel is a utopian travel novel and participates in many conventions of the travel novel genre, including the framing device of a “found” report and the arduous journey to a mystical land.
The novel gave rise to the conventional use of Shangri-La as a common name for any utopia. Famously, President Franklin Roosevelt called the Maryland presidential retreat Shangri-La, though it was later renamed Camp David by President Dwight Eisenhower. After the success of Hilton’s 1934 novel Unlock all 48 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
