There seems to be some similarities with Earp's life eg. Earp was mostly motivated by money and was paid well, the way Blazedale handled the mob resembles Earp's style, and his brither was named Morgan and was a gambler.
shareYes, the novel was very much inspired by Earp's life, although the super-gunman/hired town-tamer aspect of Blaisedell was more like Hickok. "Tom Morgan" is very close to "Tom McKey," the pseudonym Doc Holliday used during his stay in Deadwood. The parallels come out stronger in the novel than in the movie.
shareThere's a really good essay by Thomas Pynchon about the novel - you should read it.
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