James Hilton was a British-American novelist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for his novels Lost Horizon; Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Random Harvest; and co-writing screenplays for the films Camille (1936) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), the latter earning him an Academy Award. No. 1 on The New York Times Fiction best seller list for 2 weeks, from the issue of September 23, 1945. Wiki link