We’ve assembled a price list for first-edition romance novels that are collector’s items. These out-of-print books are among some of the most expensive romance novels you can find.
The Great Book Purge of 1995
My Teenage Romance Novel Collection
At Sweet Savage Flame, we’ve previously talked about where to look for vintage romance novels.
When I was 17 years old, I amassed a library of over 500 first-edition romance novels.
I had spent all my teenage years curating my collection, subscribing to monthly book clubs, trading novels with friends, and scouring the bookstores at malls and shopping centers (most are now defunct, like B. Dalton, Waldenbooks, and Borders, although Barnes-and-Noble is still around).
Not to mention searching stationery stores, drug stores, supermarkets, and UBSes (used bookstores).
Plus, thrift shops, hospitals, libraries, and garage sales for rare and coveted titles!
But not the internet, since the years I collected them (1990 to 1995) were back in “ye olden days” of the 1900s.
When I left for college in August of 1995, I made the mistake of leaving my beloved books at home. There were category romances: Harlequin Temptations, Presents, and Romances; Silhouette Desires; and Bantam Loveswepts.
Of course, there were historicals: I subscribed to Harlequin Historicals and Zebra Lovegrams. And so many first editions: Johanna Lindsey, Rebecca Brandewyne, Jude Deveraux, and Catherine Coulter, as well as newer authors like Lisa Kleypas and Beverly Jenkins.
Plus, all my juicy Jackie Collins novels and V.C. Andrews’s original keyhole stepbacks.
Gone With the Wind! (No, I Borrowed That One From the Library)
My father, thinking they were just useless paperbacks cluttering up the house, threw them all out. He had no idea that my collection was worth a small fortune, with some of the most expensive romances a collector would cherish.
Those first editions with the original cover art and the foil-embossed covers, all those now-priceless stepbacks, and my copy of The Thornbirds with Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward on the front…all gone!
I refer to that loss as The Great Book Purge. Even though I’ve recouped some of the books, it came at a price. The loss still haunts me to this day.
That experience taught me the value of vintage book collecting and the importance of educating others on the worth of literary treasures.
Vintage Romance Book Collecting
We’ve compiled a list of some of the most difficult first-edition old-school paperback romance novels to track down. They are hard to find, expensive, and rare. Some of these books we’re lucky to have in our collection and others we once had and sold or lost (how foolish!).
The original editions of these romances are (obviously) out-of-print and hard to find. If you do, they will be very expensive if you purchase them via mail-order.
One negative is that you can never be sure what condition they’ll be in when you get them.
Out in the wild, at thrift stores, etc., you may find them for a bargain. In pristine condition, no less. If you do, snatch them up!
And finally, there are those we’d pay our weight in gold to have. (Well, birth weight, anyway! 😜)
Out-Of-Print Or First Editions Priced from $15 to $40
- Judy Cuevas – Bliss
$12 – $25(As of March 2023) $35 – $60
- Eleanora De Vincent – Dark Dream of Love
$15(As of March 2023) $40 – $100+
- Teresa Denys – The Flesh and the Devil
$15-40(As of March 2023) $50 – $100+- (Depends on whether paperback or hardcover)
- Christina Dodd – Castles in the Air
$15 – 30(As of March 2023) $30 – $100+- (3-armed-version) Avon, 1993
- Beverly Jenkins – Always and Forever
$20 – $30(As of March 2023) $8 – $50 - Beverly Jenkins – Before the Dawn
$25 – $35(As of March 2023) $5 – $25 - Beverly Jenkins – Belle and the Beau
$25 – $40(As of March 2023) $45 – $60
- Charlotte Lamb – Temptation
$20 – $50(As of March 2023) $5 – $30
- Francine Rivers – Not So Wild A Dream
$20 – $40(As of March 2023) $20 – $50 - Francine Rivers – A Fire in the Heart
$20 – $60(As of March 2023) $30 – $99 - Francine Rivers – Outlaw’s Embrace
$25(As of March 2023) $25 – 40 - Francine Rivers – Rebel in His Arms
$25-$30(As of March 2023) $80 – 100
Hard to Find Books That Will Cost About $40-50+
- Lisa Kleypas – Give Me Tonight $35-$60
- Lisa Kleypas – Love, Come to Me $65- $80
- Francine Rivers – Redeeming Love $50 – $70
- (Original only)
- Francine Rivers – Heart In Hiding $30 – $90
- Francine Rivers – Kathleen $25 – $75
- Francine Rivers – Sycamore Hill $30 – $60
- Janet Louise Roberts / Louisa Bronte– Her Demon Lover $30 – $50
- Depends on which version (Regular Avon Gothic or Avon Satanic Gothic)
- June Lund Shiplett – Journey to Yesterday 1977 $20-$50
- Tracy West – A Lesson In Love $35 – $90
- Original Version, Silhouette First Love,1982
- Patricia Vaughan – Shadows On the Bayou $50- $60
- Valerie Vayle – Night Fire $60 – $90
The Great White Whales of Romance Novels $100+
(aka) Romances That Are Darn Near Impossible to Find–and If You Do, You’ll Have to Pay A Lot
- Teresa Denys – The Silver Devil
$150-???(As of March) 2023 $200 – $???- (Depends on whether the 1980 Futura version or 1984 Ballantine edition w/ H. Tom Hall cover)
- Judy Cuevas – Dance $150 – $300
- Beverly Jenkins – Indigo $200 – GOOD LUCK!
- (Original) Avon
- Beverly Jenkins – Night Song $150 – GOOD LUCK!
- (Original) Avon, 1994
- Nicole Jordan – Velvet Embrace $70 – $100
- Original 1987 Zebra Edition
- Lisa Kleypas – Where Passion Leads $250 – $500
- Lisa Kleypas – Forever My Love $100 – $250
- Christine Monson – Stormfire $100 – $250 & GOOD LUCK!
- Francine Rivers – Hearts Divided $150 – $200
- Francine Rivers – This Golden Valley $90 – $200
- Francine Rivers – Sarina $100 – $200
- Nora Roberts – Promise Me Tomorrow $90 – $150
- Day Taylor – The Black Swan $100 – $150
- Rosalind Welles – Entwined Destinies $150 – $300
Your Opinion
What do you think of these expensive, hard-to-find romances? Would you pay that much for these books?
What hard-to-find, out-of-print books did we miss? Do you own any of these romance novels?
As always, please drop a comment, and let’s talk romance!
Thanks, Jacqueline. I tend to go for vintage contemporary romances more than vintage historicals. But I catch your drift. There’s a market for the most sought-after bodice rippers. Especially in top condition.
If I ever wonder about the price of a book, I first check with Bookfinder. It’s also a great place to go when you’re not just looking for a book at a fair price. You’re looking for it at ANY price!
Which vintage contemporary romance is hardest to find? Why, it’s whichever one I’ve heard about, and just gotta have!
Good luck!
For the most part, collecting vintage romance is an affordable hobby but a few out of print ones can be pricy! It’s not as expensive as collecting vintage paperback horror novels has gotten though – in fact some of the most expensive vintage romance novels are gothic romances that intersect with the horror genre. I actually hope that sites like this that promote how awesome 70s to 90s romance covers are don’t become too popular or prices will start shooting up!
Where can one sell these books?
Etsy and ebay are probably the best places to start. If you have a lot of books you can set app a selling account with Abe or Thrift books, but I believe they charge a service fee. You can also list these on Facebook Marketplace. There Are many vintage romance groups You can join and post Images of the books that you have available. I’ll try to come up with an article On selling vintage books soon.
So glad I found you. I just cleaned out my basement and I must have 1,000 of these old books if not more. Now I will go through them and see what I have. I was just about to toss them all!
My fave romance book was House of Scorpio by Pat Wallace!! I still have my original sans the cover art! I would be thrilled if you could re-release it! I thought it was the best AVON book ever, with its unique settings, fantasy politics, and all under the worlds of the Zodiac! I lOVED that book too!!
I have most of Lisa Kleypas’s books and was very fortunate to find copies of Love Come to Me, Give me Tonight, and 2 other earlier ones before the prices went through the roof. I would like to note that a copy of Teresa Denys, Silver Devil is selling for 499.00 and over $2000.00 on eBay and Amazon as of this month (July, 2023). Another title I had a hard time finding was Hunter’s Moon by Norah Hess. It took me almost two years to find it under $10.
Not trying to be sassy but I am one of the lucky ones that found a copy on eBay few years ago for $40 (AUD)! I thought it was quite expensive but wanted to see what it was about. Its a great book and I still amazed that I succeed to get an original copy with Tom Hall cover.
Ok I fully relate to the feverish collection of romance novels. I was doing it endlessly from age 11. Even going completely against my nature and upbringing to pilfer them from the public library. A trip to any store from book to grocery rarely resulted in no purchase of a romance novel. Maybe two. Lol. I’ve also been attempting to write a worthy one most of my life. (I believe I’ve finally staved off the world long enough to accomplish that life long dream. And it’s really good.) now I am aware of the transitions over the decades. I am 56 now. But I cannot deny that I found those earlier tales of amazing examples of men, such as our eyes can never behold in reality, taking what they want. And sweeping the reluctant heroines into some castle bedchamber to have their way with them. they were fighting in their minds but their bodies had long since betrayed them. Followed by their hearts. And of course true love ensued against all odds. Sweeping dramas of every era. Viking to Apache Warrior. The excitement and the powerful and explicitly detailed sex making you giggle into the sheets and curl your toes. Wishing you could trade in the lump snoring beside you in. At least for a moment. And here I finally get to my point. I SEE NO REFERENCE TO THE QUEEN OF ALL ROMANCE MASTERS HERSELF. KATHLEEN WOODIWISS. And that well that is simply blasphemous. And I pray an oversight.
I can’t begin to explain the degree to which the smile on my face reaches straight into the heart of me – yes my heart is smiling lol – because those bodice ripper delights that are the topic of discussion have been my prized treasures since I was a girl and became the crux of what got me through 21 years of marriage to a toad. Aka – abusive liar and cheater etc etc. I wasn’t strong enough to break away in life. But I broke away between pages of imagined life every single day. And though times changed the dynamic btwn hero and heroin, and I fully understand the reason, the truth is well – there was just a void from then on. And one that you didn’t exactly go around complaining about. Especially if you were known to be the victim of sexual abuse at any point in life. I was from 11 to 13 years old at the mercy of a pedophile. Please don’t linger on that uncomfortable bit of info. My point in mentioning it is none of it lends itself to getting into discussions like – “omg I just can’t help reading and rereading that part where she’s beating his chest and fighting wildly to get free with all her strength but there’s no use. Hero just pins her helplessly beneath him and has his deliciously manly way with her! Isn’t it just the best? Sigh”. Haha. Yeah that’s not a real conversation if you don’t want all sorts of awkward and likely judgemental and shocked feed back. But lo and behold turns out at the end of the day those most sinfully inappropriate and deliciously spun tales of forbidden passion are the ones demanding top dollar now. Uh huh. Lol. Ya see? Oh it’s so great. 😁 and I have them all. Beginning with the top on the rare list Stormfire. And as unbelievable as this sounds after all that above – Stormfire is the first out on the sales floor guys. Time to sacrifice for my struggling child. I don’t have any other means left after the narcissist destroyed our lives before he was gone. So this not a difficult choice. It is an obvious choice and I am just so incredibly grateful for the miracle that one of the few things he didn’t see fit to rob me of because he could never have imagined there was value to be had and stolen – was my romance novel collection! It brings tears to my eyes honestly. My treasures he saw as garbage are turning out to be a very possible saving grace to our lives. Cheers everyone. Happy reading. Please leave any advice regarding my best option for selling my treasure. ❣️
I do have some of these out of print romances in my collection. I plan to read them, then sell on my eBay store.