My mother [was in advertising and] worked incredibly hard when she was bringing us up. She was a working mother and a working single parent.

I think [Charles] Dickens was an extrovert and Nelly [Ternan] an introvert, and I think that Nelly saw beyond the fame and adulation and she actually loved Dickens essentially for who he was. So I think he felt like she was someone he could be himself with.

Always, my mother said, "Be yourself." That is sometimes the hardest thing to do. I try to always remember that and come back to that and have strength in who you are. There is only one you.

There's so much of a desire in the entertainment industry for newness, a desire to build somebody up and then treat them as old news within six months. I think you'd be naive if you didn't try to hold on to your own way of doing things.

But since doing the film ["The Invisible Woman"] I've really learned to appreciate [Charles Dickens], he's phenomenal. "Great Expectations" would be one of my favorites.

I always had a very strong sense of independence.

I don't have much time for shopping so I pick things up when I can. My favorite labels are APC, Isabel Marant and Agnes B because the clothes are cut small and have a simplicity to them.