diff --git a/lib/ld-eventsource/client.rb b/lib/ld-eventsource/client.rb
index 2e388fe..f2eed91 100644
--- a/lib/ld-eventsource/client.rb
+++ b/lib/ld-eventsource/client.rb
@@ -91,6 +91,9 @@ class Client
     #   request to generate the payload dynamically.
     # @param retry_enabled [Boolean] (true)  whether to retry connections after failures. If false, the client
     #   will exit after the first connection failure instead of attempting to reconnect.
+    # @param http_client_options [Hash] (nil)  additional options to pass to
+    #   the HTTP client, such as `socket_factory` or `proxy`. These settings will override
+    #   the socket factory and proxy settings.
     # @yieldparam [Client] client  the new client instance, before opening the connection
     #
     def initialize(uri,
@@ -105,7 +108,8 @@ def initialize(uri,
           socket_factory: nil,
           method: "GET",
           payload: nil,
-          retry_enabled: true)
+          retry_enabled: true,
+          http_client_options: nil)
       @uri = URI(uri)
       @stopped = Concurrent::AtomicBoolean.new(false)
       @retry_enabled = retry_enabled
@@ -116,9 +120,10 @@ def initialize(uri,
       @method = method.to_s.upcase
       @payload = payload
       @logger = logger || default_logger
-      http_client_options = {}
+
+      base_http_client_options = {}
       if socket_factory
-        http_client_options["socket_class"] = socket_factory
+        base_http_client_options["socket_class"] = socket_factory
       end
 
       if proxy
@@ -131,13 +136,15 @@ def initialize(uri,
       end
 
       if @proxy
-        http_client_options["proxy"] = {
+        base_http_client_options["proxy"] = {
           :proxy_address => @proxy.host,
           :proxy_port => @proxy.port,
         }
       end
 
-      @http_client = HTTP::Client.new(http_client_options)
+      options = http_client_options.is_a?(Hash) ? base_http_client_options.merge(http_client_options) : base_http_client_options
+
+      @http_client = HTTP::Client.new(options)
         .follow
         .timeout({
           read: read_timeout,
diff --git a/spec/client_spec.rb b/spec/client_spec.rb
index 12fde0d..62c4968 100644
--- a/spec/client_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/client_spec.rb
@@ -738,6 +738,155 @@ def test_object.to_s
     end
   end
 
+  describe "http_client_options precedence" do
+    it "allows socket_factory to be set via individual parameter" do
+      mock_socket_factory = double("MockSocketFactory")
+
+      with_server do |server|
+        server.setup_response("/") do |req,res|
+          send_stream_content(res, "", keep_open: true)
+        end
+
+        # We can't easily test socket creation without actually making a connection,
+        # but we can verify the options contain the socket_class
+        client = nil
+        expect {
+          client = subject.new(server.base_uri, socket_factory: mock_socket_factory)
+        }.not_to raise_error
+
+        # Access the internal HTTP client to verify socket_class was set
+        expect(client.instance_variable_get(:@http_client).default_options.socket_class).to eq(mock_socket_factory)
+
+        client.close
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "allows proxy to be set via individual parameter" do
+      with_server do |server|
+        server.setup_response("/") do |req,res|
+          send_stream_content(res, simple_event_1_text, keep_open: false)
+        end
+
+        with_server(StubProxyServer.new) do |proxy|
+          event_sink = Queue.new
+          client = subject.new(server.base_uri, proxy: proxy.base_uri) do |c|
+            c.on_event { |event| event_sink << event }
+          end
+
+          with_client(client) do |c|
+            expect(event_sink.pop).to eq(simple_event_1)
+            expect(proxy.request_count).to eq(1)
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "allows http_client_options to override socket_factory" do
+      individual_socket_factory = double("IndividualSocketFactory")
+      override_socket_factory = double("OverrideSocketFactory")
+
+      with_server do |server|
+        server.setup_response("/") do |req,res|
+          send_stream_content(res, "", keep_open: true)
+        end
+
+        # http_client_options should take precedence over individual parameter
+        client = nil
+        expect {
+          client = subject.new(server.base_uri,
+            socket_factory: individual_socket_factory,
+            http_client_options: {"socket_class" => override_socket_factory})
+        }.not_to raise_error
+
+        # Verify that the override socket factory was used, not the individual one
+        expect(client.instance_variable_get(:@http_client).default_options.socket_class).to eq(override_socket_factory)
+
+        client.close
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "allows http_client_options to override proxy settings" do
+      with_server do |server|
+        server.setup_response("/") do |req,res|
+          send_stream_content(res, simple_event_1_text, keep_open: false)
+        end
+
+        with_server(StubProxyServer.new) do |individual_proxy|
+          with_server(StubProxyServer.new) do |override_proxy|
+            event_sink = Queue.new
+            client = subject.new(server.base_uri,
+              proxy: individual_proxy.base_uri,
+              http_client_options: {"proxy" => {
+                :proxy_address => override_proxy.base_uri.host,
+                :proxy_port => override_proxy.base_uri.port,
+              }}) do |c|
+              c.on_event { |event| event_sink << event }
+            end
+
+            with_client(client) do |c|
+              expect(event_sink.pop).to eq(simple_event_1)
+              # The override proxy should be used, not the individual one
+              expect(override_proxy.request_count).to eq(1)
+              expect(individual_proxy.request_count).to eq(0)
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "merges http_client_options with base options when both socket_factory and other options are provided" do
+      socket_factory = double("SocketFactory")
+      ssl_options = { verify_mode: 0 }  # OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE equivalent
+
+      with_server do |server|
+        server.setup_response("/") do |req,res|
+          send_stream_content(res, "", keep_open: true)
+        end
+
+        # Should include both socket_factory from individual param and ssl from http_client_options
+        client = nil
+        expect {
+          client = subject.new(server.base_uri,
+            socket_factory: socket_factory,
+            http_client_options: {"ssl" => ssl_options})
+        }.not_to raise_error
+
+        # Verify both options are present
+        http_options = client.instance_variable_get(:@http_client).default_options
+        expect(http_options.socket_class).to eq(socket_factory)
+        expect(http_options.ssl).to eq(ssl_options)
+
+        client.close
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "http_client_options SSL pass-through" do
+    it "passes SSL verification options through http_client_options" do
+      ssl_options = {
+        verify_mode: 0,  # OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE equivalent
+        verify_hostname: false,
+      }
+
+      with_server do |server|
+        server.setup_response("/") do |req,res|
+          send_stream_content(res, "", keep_open: true)
+        end
+
+        client = nil
+        expect {
+          client = subject.new(server.base_uri,
+            http_client_options: {"ssl" => ssl_options})
+        }.not_to raise_error
+
+        # Verify SSL options are passed through
+        expect(client.instance_variable_get(:@http_client).default_options.ssl).to eq(ssl_options)
+
+        client.close
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
   describe "retry parameter" do
     it "defaults to true (retries enabled)" do
       events_body = simple_event_1_text