Rosemary Rogers (born as Jansz; December 7, 1932 – November 12, 2019) was a Sri Lankan Burgher author who wrote popular 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 format. Both writers achieved early success by working with editor Nancy Coffey, who was employed by Avon Books at the time. Rogers is seen as one of the founders of the modern historical romance genre, and many modern writers 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 known as 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 a life that kept them away from most of the outside world. She began writing at age eight, and throughout her teens, she wrote many romantic stories in the style of her favorite writers, Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas, père, and Rafael Sabatini. She became the first woman in her family to work outside the home as a feature writer for a Ceylon newspaper.

After spending three years at the University of Ceylon, Rogers became a reporter and soon married Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese rugby player and track and field star (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 with their two daughters, Rosanne and Sharon, to London in 1960.

In Europe, she met Leroy Rogers from the United States. They married in his hometown, St. Louis, Missouri, and she moved her family to California, where they had two sons, Michael and Adam. The second marriage ended after eight years, and Rogers was left to support herself and four children on her salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. The following year, in 1969, her parents came to live with Rogers. In Solano County, she met Shirlee Busbee, and Rosemary became her friend and mentor.

Her third marriage, in September 1984, was to poet Christopher Kadison, who was 20 years younger than her. The marriage did not last long.

Rogers later made her home in California, where she continued to write until her death.

Rogers died on November 12, 2019, at her home in Monterey, California. She was 86 years old.

Every night for a year, Rogers worked to improve a manuscript she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When her teenage daughter found the manuscript in a drawer, she encouraged her mother to send it to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, Sweet Savage Love, reached the top of bestseller lists and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, Dark Fires, sold two million copies in its first three months of release.

Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, Wicked Loving Lies, sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication.

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 often shown being raped several times, sometimes by the heroes and sometimes by other men. Her heroines travel to exotic locations and meet important people. In many cases, one or both of the protagonists follows a "riches-to-rags-to-riches" storyline.

Her novel Love Play (1981) features in the Hindi film Khiladi (1992).