# Is "Sweet Savage Love" by Rosemary Rogers a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers (Avon Books, 1974) is identified by: Avon mass-market paperback original and Rogers's debut, which together with Woodiwiss's Avon originals launched the historical-romance paperback boom. The paperback original is the true first; there is no hardcover first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Avon mass-market paperback original and Rogers's debut, which together with Woodiwiss's Avon originals launched the historical-romance paperback boom
- The first printing shows the original cover price and no later-printing statement on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Avon Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rosemary Rogers |
| Publisher | Avon Books |
| Year | 1974 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Avon mass-market paperback original and Rogers's debut, which together with Woodiwiss's Avon originals launched the historical-romance… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Avon mass-market paperback original and Rogers's debut, which together with Woodiwiss's Avon originals launched the historical-romance paperback boom. The first printing shows the original cover price and no later-printing statement on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
The paperback original is the true first; there is no hardcover first edition. It is Rogers's first published novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club hardcover. Later Avon printings carry higher cover prices and numbered printing lines.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sweet Savage Love* by Rosemary Rogers a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sweet-savage-love
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.