 |
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| Enid Francessca 'Fran' Katzenjammer | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Nickname(s) | |
| Nationality |
British (has relatives in Central Europe [2]) |
| Physical description | |
| Species |
Human |
| Gender |
Female |
| Hair colour |
Black |
| Eye colour |
Brown |
| Skin colour |
Light |
| Family information | |
| Family members |
|
| Affiliation | |
| Occupation |
Unemployed |
| Former Occupations |
|
| Shop |
Nifty Gifty (formerly) |
| . | |
Francesca "Fran" Katzenjammer (born Enid Katzenjammer) a heavy alcoholic and smoker and the former owner of Nifty Gifty, a gift shop on Little Bevan Street. She shares a friendship with Bernard Black, the owner of the shop opposite Black Books and Manny Bianco, an employee in Bernard's shop.
Biography
Early life
Not much is known about Fran's early life, however, it is known that her grandfather taught her how to play poker in her childhood, while her grandmother taught her how to cheat, before she got shot in Riga. After her school days, she attended university with her friend Howell Granger, a man with an erotic voice that seduces Fran to a point where she is panting loudly. During her early life, she changed her name from Enid to Francessca, which was then shortened to Fran.
Life as a shop owner
At one stage in her life, Fran bought a small building on Little Bevan Street, Bloomsbury. It is unknown what purpose the shop was serving then, however, once Fran had bought it, she converted it into Nifty Gifty, a gift shop that sold many, and some bizarre, items. Fran was not very professional with her job, and usually bought merchandise without actually knowing what it did. She eventually took a disliking to her shop, and admitted that she sold a lot of useless items.
After she had bought Nifty Gifty, she met Bernard Black, the drunken and pessimistic owner of the shop nexxtdoor. Bernard and Fran took a liking to each other, and usually closed their shops early to share a quiet glass of wine, their favourite beverage. Some time after, the pair had sexual intercourse whilst drunk, and Fran 'forced' Bernard to forget what had happened. Bernard and Fran did not continue a sexual relationship together, and just remained as friends.
In 2000, Bernard hired Manny Bianco to work as an assistant in Black Books. Fran took an immediated liking towards Manny, and showed him around Bernard's spare room in case he wanted to move in. Bernard, who had hired many whilst drunk and had no recolection of the night before, fired Manny despite the fact that Manny had sold more than half the shops merchandise. Fran was furious when she had heard the news that Manny was leaving, and forced Bernard, through hitting and shouting at him, to re-hire Manny. She succeeded and Manny moved in the next day.
Life after Nifty Gifty
Between 2000 and 2002, Fran was forced to shut Nifty Gifty down, probably due to low income. She went through a period of depression during this stage, saying that, despite the fact she had hated her shop, she felt bored now that she was unemployed. Although going to many job interviews and trying out various occupations, including working for a company without knowing what she had to do and working in Black Books itself, Fran could never hold onto a job together and her working life never lasted more than a few days.
Loss of Manny Bianco
In 2004, Fran went on a holiday to Cornwall, and on her return, she found that Manny had resigned from Black Books after Bernard shoved his hand into a toaster. Manny had decided to work in the bookshop nextdoor, Goliath Books. Fran was furious that her two best friends had seperated and decided to protest and persuade Manny into returning. Manny did eventually return to Bernard asking for an apology, however, Bernard refused and Manny returned to Goliath Books, only to find that his new boss, Evan, tried to take what is most precious to him, his appearance.
Manny decided to return to Black Books rather than obey his cruel boss, only to find the shop in the worst state it was ever been in, overflowing with books and filled with hermit crabs and dead badgers. Bernard, delighted to see Manny, defended him when Evan comes looking for him, and agreed that his attitude towards Manny needed to change. Fran was finally satisfied and life returned to normal for all three.
Personality and traits
Personality
Fran is very independant and dominating, and one of the few who has a certain amount of control over Bernard. She is quite masculine, and doesn't usually wear a dress or a skirt unless going on a date. She can be very rude and obnoxious at times, and is a heavy smoker and alcoholic. Despite taking up yoga to try to rid her of her obnoxious personality and to get her off drinking and smoking, however, this was short lived and Fran quickly returned to her original state.
She is quite eccentric, and has been described as crazy in the past. In her shop, Nifty Gifty, she usually bought merchandise and stock which she either did not need or did not know what purpose it served, and her shop was full of useless and pointless products.
Sexuality
Fran has had many unsuccessful relationships, and seems to attract a very strange variety of potential partners. She has dated Kurt, a violinist who is "very gum diseasey", Raymond, who lives with his mother in a car, The Cleaner, a worker who works for Anall Cleaning Ltd, who is obsessed with cleaning and Ben, a homonsexual. When Fran does have a successful relationship she usually does something to end it. She once saw her then-boyfriend Peter, sitting opposite a woman in a restraunt. She told Peter that he was a "scum-bag", and the woman he was sitting with was a "slut". The woman turned out to be his sister, and he was consoling her as she had lost her job. Fran has had a sexual relationship with Bernard, however, she has forced him to forget it, as they were probably drunk at the time.
Skills and abilities
- Card skills: Fran has a very talented card player, particularly at poker, and is also capable of rigging the deck to make sure she gets good cards [7].
Physical appearance
- "You're my oldest friend, besides you look like you've just fallen out of a tree."
- —Bernard Black
Fran usually wears a jacket and shirt, however when going on a date she usually wears a dress. She has short, jet-black hair which is styled by her stylist, Gianni, and she usually wears make-up and carries a black leather handbag. She has been described as beautiful in the past, however, she cannot hold a relationship together
Realtionships
Bernard Black
Bernard's relationship with Fran, however, is somewhat better than his with Manny. Fran is Bernard's oldest friend and it seems she is the only one who can have some control over him. Fran often persuades Bernard to do things he does not want to do, such as allowing Manny to work in the shop and allowing Manny's parents to stay. She usually does this through violence and shouting insults at him.
Bernard and Fran often confine in one another, and used to close their shops early to share a drink. They usually settle arguments by slapping each other, and keep many secrets from each other. Fran knew that Bernard's ex-finacee faked her own death to get away from him, however, she kept this secret from him for many years.
Bernard did have a sexual relationship with Fran, but when asked about it, stated "she remembers and I'm not allowed".
Manny Bianco
Fran and Manny get on very well together. Fran sees Manny as a relief from Bernard, and the pair often gossip about celebrities and modern culture, a pastime they both enjoy. Fran was the person who secured Manny's position in Black Books, after he was fired by Bernard. Fran is always shocked and devastated when Manny runs away, and nearly always blames Bernard for this, and usually argues about Bernard's treatment towards him.
Despite making a clear protest to the abuse Manny gets from Bernard, Fran has been known to abuse Manny's willingness to help when she convinced him to hide in a piano and play from inside there, while she pretended to play from the exterior. However, Fran is usually very kind towards Manny and always stands up for him whenever he is insulted or humiliated.
Behind the scenes
- Fran is played by Olivier Award-winning actress Tamsin Greig.
- Tamsin Greig was pregnant during the filming of Series One.
- Fran was originally going to be a philosophy teacher called Valerie.
Etymology
- Fran, a variant of Francessca, is a multi-gender name of me is of Latin and Italian origin, meaning 'from France'. This may be a reference to the fact that Fran has her roots in Central Europe.
- Katzenjammer comes from the old German slang word for a hangover, literally meaning 'the howling of the cats'.
- Enid, Fran's original name, is a feminine given name of Welsh origin, and translates to 'soul' or 'life'.
- In an earlier script, Fran's name was Valerie, a feminine given name of Latin origin, meaning 'strong, healthy'.