Rosemary Rogers (born Jansz; December 7, 1932 – November 12, 2019) was a Sri Lankan ethnic group member and popular author of historical romance novels. Her first book, Sweet Savage Love, was published in 1974. She was the second romance author, after Kathleen Woodiwiss, to have her novels published in paperback books sold in stores. Both writers achieved early success working with editor Nancy Coffey, who was then employed by Avon Books. Rogers is considered one of the creators of the modern historical romance genre, and many current authors credit her work as a major influence. She lived in California.
Biography
Rosemary Jansz was born on December 7, 1932, in Panadura, British Ceylon, which is now called Sri Lanka. Her parents, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz, were Dutch-Portuguese settlers who owned several private schools. The Rogers family had many servants and lived mostly separate from the outside world. She started writing at age eight and wrote many romantic stories during her teenage years, inspired by authors like Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas, père, and Rafael Sabatini. She was the first woman in her family to work outside the home as a feature writer for a Ceylon newspaper.
After studying for three years at the University of Ceylon, Rogers became a reporter and later married Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese rugby player and track and field athlete who played for Ceylon against the 1950 British Lions and was known as "the fastest man in Asia." After separating from her husband, Rogers moved to London in 1960 with her two daughters, Rosanne and Sharon.
In Europe, she met Leroy Rogers from the United States. They married in St. Louis, Missouri, and she moved her family to California, where they had two sons, Michael and Adam. Their marriage ended after eight years, and Rogers supported herself and her four children as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, her parents moved in with her. In Solano County, she met Shirlee Busbee, and Rosemary became her friend and mentor.
In September 1984, she married poet Christopher Kadison, who was 20 years younger than her. Their marriage lasted only a short time.
Rogers later lived in California, where she continued to write until her death.
She died on November 12, 2019, at her home in Monterey, California. She was 86 years old.
For one year, Rogers worked every night to improve a manuscript she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. Her teenage daughter found the manuscript in a drawer and encouraged her mother to send it to Avon, which quickly bought the novel. The novel, Sweet Savage Love, became a top-selling book and is one of the most popular historical romances ever written. Her second novel, Dark Fires, sold two million copies in its first three months.
Her first three novels sold a combined total of 10 million copies. The fourth, Wicked Loving Lies, sold 3 million copies in its first month.
Rosemary Rogers was one of the first romance authors to include bedroom scenes in her stories. Her novels often include violence, and the heroines are usually raped several times, sometimes by the heroes and sometimes by other men. Her heroines visit exotic places and meet important people. In many stories, one or both main characters follow a "riches-to-rags-to-riches" storyline.
Her novel Love Play (1981) is featured in the Hindi film Khiladi (1992).