affair with the actress-dancer Letty Lind, by whom he fathered two illegitimate children. His wife continued performing under her married name. Her last performance was in May 1879 in Sheffield as Mrs Denham in James Albery's comedy The Crisis. On 1 June, a critic in The Era wrote, "We have rarely seen better acting … Mrs Howard Paul as Mrs Denham alone repays a visit". By the time the notice appeared she had been taken gravely ill. She was brought to her home in London near Bedford Park, Turnham Green, and on 6 June 1879 she died there. She was buried at Brompton Cemetery in West London. Reputation Mrs Paul's obituary in The New York Times said: "She was gifted with a wonderful voice [but] ... nearly all her efforts were made in the lighter branches of dramatic and musical art ... her acting was at once droll and vivacious". Henry Barton Baker, in his History of the London Stage and Its Famous Players, called her "A charming actress and a beautiful singer". Opinions differed on whether she had made the best use of her talents. Joseph Knight wrote in the Dictionary of National Biography: "Mrs Howard Paul was a woman of ability, whose talents were often frittered away in parts and occupations unworthy of them." A writer in The Athenaeum agreed, commenting that "had she adhered to the lyric stage instead of being an erratic artist associated with Mr Howard Paul in 'musical and dramatic entertainments,' [she] would have taken the highest position as a contralto." Another contemporary critic considered that she had in fact achieved a high position: Notes References External links Photographs of Mrs Howard Paul on the National Portrait Gallery website Carte de Visite 1833 births 1879 deaths Actor-managers Burials at Brompton Cemetery English contraltos 19th-century British women singers Musicians from Kent Operatic contraltos People from Dartford 19th-century theatre managers 19th-century English actresses Actresses from Kent