Sharon-- A Google search on "Mark Twain" and "Emperor Norton" turns up 14,900 items. A glance at a few suggests that the belief that Norton is a model for the King is widespread. That certainly doesn't mean it's true. But you would surely find some of those items worth exploring. Certainly Twain knew Norton and spoke of him in print. I imagine Edgar M.Branch's books on early Clemens would be an excellent place to start serious research. I have at hand a casual old nicely illustrated collection, MARK TWAIN'S SAN FRANCISCO, ed. Bernard Taper. It's fun, but also maddening because there's no index. But it does catch some of the most obvious Twain/Norton links. The little I recall of Norton makes him seem an improbable model for the King. The King is a con man, generally ruthless in his motives, and fully aware that he is not regal. His kingship is merely a role he takes on for a few weeks in his long life. That doesn't sound to me much like the good Emperor (who also declared himself to be, as I recall, "Protector of Mexico"). Happy sleuthing, Mark Coburn