diff --git a/mqtt/client.lua b/mqtt/client.lua
index d17f8d2..0b5e1f4 100644
--- a/mqtt/client.lua
+++ b/mqtt/client.lua
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ Client.__index = Client
 --			<br/>	`[mqtt[s]://][username[:password]@]hostname[:port]`
 --			<br/>Any option specifically added to the options
 --			table will take precedence over the option specified in this uri.
--- @tparam boolean opts.clean					clean session start flag
+-- @tparam boolean|string opts.clean			clean session start flag, use "first" to start clean only on first connect
 -- @tparam[opt] string opts.protocol			either `"mqtt"` or `"mqtts"`
 -- @tparam[opt] string opts.username			username for authorization on MQTT broker
 -- @tparam[opt] string opts.password			password for authorization on MQTT broker; not acceptable in absence of username
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ Client.__index = Client
 -- @tparam[opt=4] number opts.version			MQTT protocol version to use, either `4` (for MQTT v3.1.1) or `5` (for MQTT v5.0).
 --												Also you may use special values `mqtt.v311` or `mqtt.v50` for this field.
 -- @tparam[opt] string opts.id					MQTT client ID, will be generated by luamqtt library if absent
--- @tparam[opt=false] boolean,table opts.secure	use secure network connection, provided by the lua module set in `opts.ssl_module`.
+-- @tparam[opt=false] boolean|table opts.secure	use secure network connection, provided by the lua module set in `opts.ssl_module`.
 --			Set to true to select default parameters, check individual `mqtt.connectors` for supported options.
 -- @tparam[opt] table opts.will					will message table with required fields `{ topic="...", payload="..." }`
 --			and optional fields `{ qos=0...2, retain=true/false }`
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ Client.__index = Client
 --
 -- local my_client = Client.create {
 -- 	uri = "mqtts://broker.host.com",
--- 	clean = true,
+-- 	clean = "first",
 -- 	version = mqtt.v50,
 -- }
 function Client:__init(opts)
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ function Client:__init(opts)
 			assert(value_type == "string", "expecting uri to be a string")
 			a.uri = value
 		elseif key == "clean" then
-			assert(value_type == "boolean", "expecting clean to be a boolean")
+			assert(value_type == "boolean" or value == "first", "expecting clean to be a boolean, or 'first'")
 			a.clean = value
 		elseif key == "version" then
 			assert(value_type == "number", "expecting version to be a number")
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ function Client:__init(opts)
 
 	-- check required arguments
 	assert(a.uri, 'expecting uri="..." to create MQTT client')
-	assert(a.clean ~= nil, "expecting clean=true or clean=false to create MQTT client")
+	assert(a.clean ~= nil, "expecting clean=true, clean=false, or clean='first' to create MQTT client")
 
 	if not a.id then
 		-- generate random client id
@@ -858,7 +858,7 @@ function Client:send_connect()
 	local connect = self._make_packet{
 		type = packet_type.CONNECT,
 		id = opts.id,
-		clean = opts.clean,
+		clean = not not opts.clean, -- force to boolean, in case "first"
 		username = opts.username,
 		password = opts.password,
 		will = opts.will,
@@ -1058,6 +1058,10 @@ function Client:handle_received_packet(packet)
 		log:info("client '%s' connected successfully to '%s:%s'", self.opts.id, conn.host, conn.port)
 
 		-- fire connect event
+		if self.opts.clean == "first" then
+			self.opts.clean = false  -- reset clean flag to false, so next connection resumes previous session
+			log:debug("client '%s'; switching clean flag to false (was 'first')", self.opts.id)
+		end
 		self:handle("connect", packet, self)
 		self.first_connect = false
 	else