James How

[1][2] How's story was the subject of contemporary newspaper articles, a section in Bram Stoker's Famous Imposters, a song in R.M.

Mr and Mrs How became respected members of their community for many years, though noted for their great commitment to privacy: they were never known to employ servants or host social functions in their home.

[1][2] The couple successfully protected their secret for the duration of their marriage, but periodically experienced incidents of blackmail from confidants and old acquaintances threatening to expose How's past female identity.

This last attempt involved her hiring two men to impersonate police officers, "arrest" How for an imagined crime, and threaten to hang them unless paid one hundred pounds.

[1] How attracted attention during and after their lifetime as an exemplar of the phenomenon of the "Female Husband" and early modern LGBTQ+ history and identities.

[1][2] Writing in 1910, Stoker argued further that the Hows' arrangement was a means of escaping the stiflingly narrow socio-economic opportunities available to Georgian-era women.