Adventures With An American Emperor

About the Book

In the latter half of the nineteenth century the city of San Francisco began to outgrow its rough and tumble gold rush beginnings. Gone were the shacks and the muddy roads, replaced by modern buildings and elegant homes lining the wide cobblestone streets. Schools opened. Restaurants thrived. Theatre was varied and plentiful. The city was on its way to becoming the jewel by the bay it is today. San Franciscans loved their city and its short but vibrant history. Its emerging identity made them proud, full of hope and, most of all, open to the new and the unique. Norton the First, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico found a warm welcome and devoted subjects when he came quietly on the scene in September of 1859. He’d placed a notice in the San Francisco Bulletin announcing his authority over the country. Slowly that authority grew, along with gently bemused public acceptance of his rank. Before long he was one of the best known and well liked personages in the city. He ruled wisely for more than two decades. Towards the end of Norton’s reign, Noelle Browning, an eleven -year-old girl sent from New York to live with her maternal aunt, came to San Francisco on the newly completed Transcontinental Railroad. Displaced, angry and frightened by her forced move away from her remarried father she meets the Emperor who takes it upon himself to introduce her to the city he loves. It was an unlikely friendship but one that brought joy to them both.

About the Author

Judith Gainor was born and raised in upstate New York. She was a nurse for most of her adult life and is now retired. She lives in California with her husband and family, an elderly English Sheepdog, a kitten and a rabbit.