Francis Fitzwilliam

**Francis John Fitzwilliam** is a gastronomist and a member of Unit 919. He is first mentioned in *Nevermoor* during the Book Trial and again during the Show Trial. He is a secondary character in *Wundersmith*and *Hollowpox*.

## Biography

### Early Life

At this point, nothing is known of Francis' life before joining the Wundrous Society, though it is mentioned he comes from a long line of family member's who have attended the Wundrous Society. During the second part of the Book Trial, Francis is shown to be extremely nervous. At the Show Trial, Francis cooked up different courses for the Elders that invoked ranging emotions as they ate. His performance earned him a spot in the Top Nine and ultimately as part of Unit 919.

### Wundrous Society Years

#### Year One

Francis joined the rest of his unit for the inauguration ceremony at Proudfoot House. Following the ceremony he learned (along with his fellow unit members and their patrons) that Morrigan Crow was a Wundersmith, causing friction within Unit 919 for almost three quarters of the school year. Francis took a number of classes with other unit members including 'Decoding Nevermoor' and 'Recognizing Mesmerism,' as well as classes on his own. At some point before the summer, his aunt and patron Hester decided his knife skills needed to be improved, making him take extra lessons on Saturdays.

Near the beginning of summer Unit 919 became the victims of blackmailers. Francis voted to comply with the demands of the blackmailers, narrowly winning by one vote. A few days later, Francis was blackmailed into baking and decorating a Grand Caledonian Coronation Crest —a difficult and complicated cake— to be ready first thing the next morning. Within a few days, Unit 919 witnessed Morrigan shoot a fireball from her mouth following an encounter with bully Heloise Redchurch, causing Morrigan's suspension from attending classes at Wunsoc.

During the first week back following the summer holidays Ms. Dearborn called for an exam period, following Archan Tate's blackmail and anonymous note to her. During the 'Decoding Nevermoor' exam, Francis was teamed up with Morrigan and Mahir Ibrahim; they were sent the furthest out of the city. However, they worked well as a team solving the riddles. Following Morrigan's disappearance down a supposed Swindleroad, Francis and Mahir made their way back to Wunsoc. Because they had failed to arrive back in time as a team, Unit 919 failed their exam. Francis stopped acknowledging Morrigan completely at this time.

Following Hallowmas, Francis attended the Wunsoc assembly with Unit 919 where Morrigan would reveal she was a Wundersmith to the present Wunsoc members, though this and the blackmailing would be revealed to be part of the Unit's Loyalty Trial in which Unit 919 would pass. This would prove to be a turning point as the Unit was now on friendlier terms then they had been before.

#### Year Two

Francis is on much friendlier terms with Morrigan now, as well as with the rest of Unit 919. They joke with each other and know the way each one of them prefers their tea by heart.

In the beginning of the year, he was tricked by miss Cheery into thinking that he has a spider on his shoulder. He was part of the Golder's night. After Morrigan gets hurt by Brutilus Brown, Francis and the rest of Unit 919 visit her in the hospital.

Francis, along with most of Unit 919 is shown to be excited about every class connected to C&D and is good at jumping out of birthday cakes, He was teamed up with Thaddea and Morrigan in one of these lessons. The three of them visited a second-hand store and Francis suggested stealing a bike, an armor and a record player. When they find a submarine, Francis is the first one to realize what is it. He suggests that the submarine wasn't owned by ordinary people as it was too expensive.

He and the rest of Unit 919 visited the Gobleian library, where Francis is the first to panic when he sees the Book Bugs. During their attack, he seemed to barely keep his stomach in check. When the students got back to the car, miss Cheery is seen helping him.

Francis is the one to turn on the radio after Nevermoor learns that Morrigan is a Wundersmith, although he seems guilty about it,

## Physical Appearance

Francis has light brown skin and brown eyes. He also has freckles. He is a Mundane Scholar, so often wears the Mundane uniform.

## Personality and Traits

**Thaddea**: "*What about your old factory?*"
**Francis**: "*My nose, What? Don’t laugh – a chef’s sense of smell is his greatest asset.*"
**Miss Cheery**: "*No need to worry about your schnoz, Francis*"
— Francis nervously pressed on the end of his light brown, gently freckled olfactory instrument.[src]

Like all the scholars in Unit 919 Francais is hard working and dedicated to his craft. He takes extra knife lessons and is often trying out new recipes or visiting Murder Gardens.

Although he is proud of his family's long WunSoc history, he does feel the pressure of expectation on him. It is this family pressure that decides his choice to remain in Unit 919 after Morrigan is revealed to be a Wundersmith and his choice to give in to the blackmailer.

Francais worries a lot. Morrigan and Cadence first see him at the book trial nervously rocking back and forth. He then passes the chase trial and the fright trial, but Mildmay thinks he is the most nervous member of Unit 919 - Mildmay chose him to go into the Tricksy Lane first.

## Abilities and Skills

### Knack

Francis is a gastronomist and can make food that sends people on a roller coaster of emotions.

### Distraction

Francis is reasonably talented in distraction and is quite good at jumping out of birthday cakes.

## Accomplishments

* Completed 5 Wundrous Society Trials
* Baked a Grand Caledonian Coronation Crest for one night when he was around 12.

## Relationships

### Unit 919

#### Morrigan Crow

Francis disliked Morrigan intensely at first, seeing her as dangerous and worried that he might get thrown out of Wunsoc because of her. However, he eventually warms up to her.

#### Anah Kahlo

Francis is on good terms with Anah. He gets on the same team as her for his 'Decoding Nevermoor' classes.

#### Mahir Ibrahim

Francis and Mahir seem to be good friends. Francis asked Mahir to help him with translating recipes. The two of them can reach an agreement and are shown to work well together on numerous occasions, such as in the 'Decoding Nevermoor' exam.

#### Thaddea Macleod

Thaddea and Francis are on generally good terms. They often disagree but usually don't argue a lot, which Francis sometimes finds pointless. They were on the same team in the 'Decoding Nevermoor' practical lesson.

#### Hawthorne Swift

Francis and Hawthorne seem to be on good terms. Hawthorne is always happy to try some of Francis' food and usually praises it.

### Family

#### Hester Fitzwilliam

Francis is in an interesting relationship with his aunt. On one hand, he is desperate to prove himself to her, on the other, he is ashamed of some of her less-than-kind opinions, especially on Wunimals and The Hollowpoxs.

Hester also seems to be critical of Francis, putting pressure on him to improve his skills. This is suggested due to her making Francis take extra lessons.

## Etymology

**Francis** is the English version of the Late Latin name *Franciscus* which means "Frenchman." It is pronounced FRAN-sis (English) or FRAHN-SEES (French). Nicknames for the masculine form of Francis include Fran, Frank, Frankie, and Franny.

The name **John**, ultimately meaning "Yahweh is gracious," is the English form of the Latin *Iohannes*. The Latin is from the Greek *Ιωαννης* (Ioannes), itself from the Hebrew name *יוֹחָנָן* (Yochanan).

**Fitzwilliam**, "son of William," comes from the Norman French *Fitz* meaning "son of" followed by the father's name. William comes from the Germanic *Willahelm*, itself dervived from *wil* "will, desire (to)" and *helm* "helmet, protection."

His maternal family name, **Akinfenwa**, is a Yoruba (Nigeria) surname of unknown meaning. Adebayo Akinfenwa is an English professional footballer bearing this name.

## Trivia

* First seen in the same group with Morrigan and Cadence waiting to take the oral portion of the Book Trial
* His door is mentioned to be a glossy blue
* Wunsoc Elder Omowunmi Akinfenwa was his great-grandmother
* Admiral Iyawa Akinfenwa, an officer in the Sea Force, was his great-aunt
* Four generations (dad's side) and seven generations (mum's side) of his family have attended the Wundrous Society
* Has bought ingredients at the Eldritch Murdergarden (such as the death cap mushroom)

## Appearances

* *Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow* (First appearance)
* *Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow*
* *Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow*

## Notes and References

1. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/francis
2. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/john
3. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/fitz
4. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/william
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akinfenwa

Anah Kahlo · Archan Tate · Cadence Blackburn · **Francis Fitzwilliam** · Hawthorne Swift · Lambeth Amara · Mahir Ibrahim · Morrigan Crow · Thaddea Macleod
Sumati Mishra · Arch's Patron · Baz Charlton · Hester Fitzwilliam · Nancy Dawson · Lambeth's Patron · Miss Mulryan · Jupiter North · Thaddea's Patron
Miss Cheery