Market Watch: Historical romances by Mary Ann Gibbs

I've had a few market price surprises lately with less-lengthy romances, such as some Harlequin romances from the 1960s and '70s (back in the days of fresh-faced, smiling girls on the covers and, inside, exotic adventure and/or mystery along the honorable woman's way to the altar). If you're used to thinking of romances like that as a dime a dozen, you should know that a few of these titles are now selling in the four to nine dollar range for copies in good condition. Who would have guessed?

Then I ran across a copy of The Moon in a Bucket by Mary Ann Gibbs, a Victorian romance published by Beagle. Beagle books are somewhat more likely than Harlequin to go up in price over the years (from relative scarcity, among other things) -- but between the time I started checking prices at various sites and then headed back to the main site I use to determine pricing, a $14 copy of this title had sold at that first site. That was the least expensive copy going. This is above the usual price range for this type of book, even from Beagle. And somebody bought the book, so the prices apparently aren't just wishful thinking on the part of the sellers.

This, mind you, is a 182-page genre romance novel, in mass market paperback.

The back cover copy includes this (ellipsis in original):

To love Vincent meant exchanging her luxurious world for a life which horrified her family and her suitor, Roger Herrington. Could she do it -- and would they let her...?

Deborah is all of eighteen. Vincent is an actor. Oh, my. But, anyway, you get the picture of what sort of book this is. And, spoiler alert!, never fear, for dear, self-sacrificing Roger comes through gallantly in the end and the noble-in-his-own-way actor rides away over the horizon, proud of himself for not dragging the dear child down to his level. (I know that because I just cheated and peeked at the last pages). Hooray, it doesn't appear to be an 'idiotic girl tosses her life away for a ruffian who will make a lousy husband if he even bothers to stick around' book, in other words. (I'm rather tired of those, aren't you?)

So I go looking for more books by Mary Ann Gibbs, and find that some are plentiful and inexpensive -- but some of her historical romances are running ten to twenty bucks and up for starting prices. Hello.

And, no, I don't want to think how many of these I've sold in the last few years for a buck or a buck and a half or two bucks each.

(You have to learn to laugh at yourself in the used book business. And you get a lot of practice at it, believe me.)