Rebecca Flynt
Anatomy of a Scandal: Passion and Politics in the New Republic
Considered to be the first political sex scandal in America, the affair between Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and a married woman named Maria Reynolds in 1791–92 was more than just a salacious tale of passion and betrayal, it had political implications from the very beginning. Five years before the affair became public, over a dozen of the most powerful men in America knew about it, including three future Presidents, a future Vice-President, a sitting Governor, former Speaker of the House, and the Attorney General. In this session, Flynt will explore the origins, details, and fallout from the scandal and how it was kept secret and weaponized by Hamilton’s political enemies to keep the ambitious Founding Father from attaining the pinnacle of political power.
Rebecca Flynt (rebeccaflyntauthor@gmail.com) is an author and storyteller with a passion for early American history. Her first novel, American Harlot, was published in 2024, and tells the story of Maria Reynolds, infamous mistress of Alexander Hamilton and the woman at the center of the first major scandal in American history. Flynt enjoys speaking about the Founders and early American History at various educational, social, and civic organizations in her area and has appeared as a guest on Historian Clay Jenkinson’s podcast “Listening to America” (formerly “The Thomas Jefferson Hour”). Her second novel, Upon Leaving Bizarre, tells the story of the scandalous wife of Founding Father, Gouverneur Morris, will be released in Spring of 2026.
