Frances is the main character in Sally Rooney’s 2017 debut novel, Conversations With Friends. The book was a success and was later adapted into a Hulu and BBC Three original series that debuted in 2022. In it, Frances is played by Alison Oliver.
Frances is a university student, writer, and occasional slam poet based in Dublin. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she and her ex-girlfriend, the stunning and charismatic Bobbi — who is also her former performing partner — are approached by photographer Melissa to collaborate on a personal essay. As they dive into the project, Sally and Bobbi find themselves drawn into the complex lives of Melissa and her actor husband, Nick.
While Frances describes herself as a “sexual omnivore”, she also uses the term “bisexual” to describe herself early on and throughout the novel. Her observations of others are incisive and poetic, though she can be impulsive and stubborn at times.
The novel also covers other elements of her life, including an inner conflict that has little to do with the main story as well as her history with her parents. Frances’s story covers many of the common experiences of a modern youth exploring facets of their orientation for the first time.