I’m not really interested in posthumous fame. I want it while I’m still alive.

But I’ve noted with interest how often the spouses, lovers or partners of famous people seem to come up strongly on the outside — after the race is run. Nowadays they’re often running well ahead, but it’s way too late for them to enjoy any fruits of fame.

I offer just two examples where the male partner’s fame vastly transcended the other’s during their lifetimes, but look where they are now. You will doubtless be able to come up with many more examples.

NAME / CURRENT GOOGLE HITS

Ted Hughes / 923,000 & Sylvia Plath / 2,240,000

Diego Rivera / 3,200,000 & Frida Kahlo / 4,320,000

Read Ted Hughes’s remarkable poem on swifts which I posted on this blog a few days ago, and ponder why he has receded in the public eye.

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