American Harlot - Paperback

by Rebecca Flynt (Author)

Obsession, lies, and betrayal. The shocking story of the first great scandal in American history.

History brands Maria Reynolds an adulteress, harlot, extortionist, and consummate grifter. But the past is often told only through the narrow and biased lens of the men involved. Maria's real name was Mary Lewis, and this is her story.

Young, beautiful, and desperate, Mary arrives in Philadelphia with her young daughter in the summer of 1791. Her husband-a con-artist of dubious reputation-has left her, and her lover has recently passed away. Now going by the name Maria (pronounced Mariah), she turns to an ambitious lawyer and newly elected Senator, Aaron Burr, for help. Burr offers her an opportunity for independence and financial security, but it comes with a price: seduce Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, take him into her confidence, and find proof of financial misconduct.

Maria is successful in seducing Hamilton, and they begin a passionate affair. When her estranged husband returns unexpectedly, Maria is caught in the middle of a dangerous power struggle, one that will lead to a national scandal. A scandal so shocking it will forge a deadly rivalry between two powerful men and alter the history of the new nation.