Bernard Ludwig Black Biographical information Nickname(s) The Gold Mine [1] Nationality Irish Physical description Species Human Gender Male Height 5'11" (180cm) Hair colour Black Skin colour Light Family information Family members Mother

Father Affiliation Occupation Owner of Black Books Former Occupations Worker in Mamba Burger [2] Shop Black Books .

Bernard Ludwig Black, the owner of the eponymous bookshop Black Books, is a heavy alcoholic and smoker and has been known to be rude and obnoxious to the customers in his shop. The only people Bernard can be said to share a friendship with are Manny Bianco, his assistant and flat mate, and Fran Katzenjammer, his best friend and neighbour.

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Biography Edit

Move to London Edit

Bernard moved to London in the early 1990s and met Gerald, who lent him money and helped him find a job. Sometime around 1995, Gerald [3] helped Bernard find a building on Little Bevan Street in Bloomsbury. It is unknown what purpose the building was serving at that time, however, Bernard rented it and turned it into a bookshop called Black Books.

Bernard then became acquainted with Fran Katzenjammer, the owner of the shop next door, and the pair became friends. Sometime after this Fran and Bernard had a sexual relationship [4], however, it was short lived as the pair were drunk at the time and just remained as friends.

Hiring of Manny Bianco Edit

In 2000 , Bernard accidently saved Manny Bianco from a group of violent skinheads. During an evening drink, Bernard hired Manny whilst under the influence of alcohol, and, when he had discovered what he had done, he looked forreasons to fire Manny. Manny, who was determined to prove himself, persuaded Bernard to give him a one day trial. In that one day, Manny sold nearly all of the merchandise in the shop and was helpful and friendly to all of the customers. However, Bernard, who despised having customers in his shop, feared that more would be attracted to the shop, and fired Manny.

Fran, who had taken a liking to Manny, persuaded Bernard, through hitting and shouting at him, that Manny was perfect for the job. Manny was re-hired, and was also allowed to move into Bernard's house located behind the shop. Bernard, however, took an instant disliking towards Manny and he has been unfair and cruel towards him ever since.

Loss of Manny Bianco Edit

Despite running away numerous times, Manny decided to leave Black Books for good and to work in the new bookshop next door, Goliath Books [5]. After Manny's departure, Bernard's health quickly deteriorated and his shop became wrecked and more messy than ever. Manny, meawhile, felt at home in his new job, until 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 came looking for him, and agreed that his attitude towards Manny needed to change. However, once he has rehired Manny, Bernard quickly returned to mistreating and abusing him.

Characteristics Edit

Personality Edit

Bernard is a drunken, unhygienic, cynical, bitter, petulant, misanthropic, belligerent, and possibly depressed pessimist who believes that the best way to enjoy life is through drinking, smoking and reading. He has a hatred of customers entering his shop and often insults and harasses them. He considers customers buying from his bookshop a 'bad thing', as he hates reordering books that he sells, so much so that on one occasion, paid a customer to take away the books he was trying to sell. As well as having a hatred for customers, Bernard also has a hatred of mobile phones, walkmans and time-wasters, so much so that he has written a set of rules for all customers to obey. Bernard has a certain fondness for the shop itself, however, and when told that it need refurbishing, stated that "it is a lovely place" and defended the shop whenever any of its bad qualities were mentioned.

Bernard's negative and pessimistic outlook on life, and his attitude towards other people, is due to the fact that Emma, his former fiance, faked her own death as not to marry him. Many people have kept this secret from him, including Fran, Bernard's parents and Mr. Singh at the newsagent's.