Biography
Born in Leigh, James Hilton was the son of John Hilton, the headmaster of Chapel End School in Walthamstow. He was educated at Leys School, Cambridge and Christ's College, Cambridge.
Hilton wrote his two most remembered books, Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips while living in a rather ordinary semi-detached house on Oak Hill Gardens, Woodford Green. The house still stands, with a blue plaque marking Hilton's residence.
He was married twice, first to Alice Brown and later to Galina Kopineck. Both marriages ended in divorce. He died in Long Beach, California from liver cancer.
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