James Hilton was English novelist born in England who spent most of his adult life in the US where he wrote a number of screenplays for Hollywood productions. As a novelist he is probably best remembered for his international bestsellers of "Lost Horizon," "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," and "Random Harvest," all of which were made into successful motion pictures.The book that in later printings was subtitled “A Detective Fantasia” was originally published with the title "Murder at School" under the pen name of Glen Trevor. The book was published in the US with the title "Was It Murder?" and eventually attributed to James Hilton.