Die Ponies Galop by Yolanda Barnard

Die Ponies Galop (Collectible Afrikaans Celebrity Exposé Memoir)

A Candid Afrikaans Insider's Account of South African Celebrity, Gossip and the Entertainment Press

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Die Ponies Galop: Seks en skandale van die sterre onthul
• Author: Yolanda Barnard
• Publisher: Griffel Media
• Publication Date: 2009
• ISBN-13: 9780981417790
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated card wrappers, perfect bound, black spine with white lettering.
• Physical Format: Large softcover (trade paperback), approximately 235 x 155 mm.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Wraps: The illustrated card wrappers are clean and bright front and back. The black spine with white lettering shows no obvious creasing. Corners and edges are fairly sharp, with slight edge wear along the back cover edge.
• Interior: The text pages are clean and white, free of foxing and markings. The title page carries a diagonal crease and the copyright page shows some creasing. The binding is tight. Owner's name in pen on the title page.
• Provenance: Owner's name 'Melani R' written in pen at the top of the title page, with a flourish beneath.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in 2009 by Griffel Media, Die Ponies Galop: Seks en skandale van die sterre onthul (Sex and scandal of the stars revealed) is an Afrikaans behind-the-scenes account by entertainment journalist Yolanda Barnard of her dealings with well over a hundred South African celebrities.

Part gossip exposé and part personal memoir, the book draws on her years in the entertainment press and looks at the relationship between the media and the famous. It mixes humour with sadness, and includes more personal passages on family tragedy.

On its release it was billed as the first Afrikaans book of its kind, and one LitNet reviewer called it among the most entertaining Afrikaans books they had read in a long time. It is a lively record of South African celebrity culture and the gossip press of the 2000s, of interest to collectors of Afrikaans non-fiction and South African popular culture.

Author Profile: Yolanda Barnard

Yolanda Barnard, also written Barnard-Lemmer, is a South African freelance journalist, lecturer and writer. She began her career at the tabloid newspaper Son and became one of the country's best-known entertainment journalists. She is an award-winning journalist, with a Mondi award among her honours.

Her other books include Die Siener: Deur die oë van Gerald Burger. She also owns a boutique home-based bookshop.