"I think heaven's being left alone with a Steinbeck in the edit suite.You sit in front of your life and you're allowed to re-edit it. Cut the rotten bits, loop the sex, montage the good moments. Live it over and over, a bit better every time. And eventually, make it perfect."

Samantha Spiro, dressed as Queen Victoria (left), greets The Queen following a performance of scenes from the works of Charles Dickens at Guildhall, London, during celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the birth of the author, 14 February 2012., a photo by The British Monarchy on Flickr.