A clip from season three of Downton Abbey, featuring Shirley MacLaine and Maggie Smith, is making the rounds on the Web and whetting fans’ appetites for the series debut on PBS’ Masterpiece in January (UK fans get first crack at the series, beginning in September).

Elizabeth McGovern introduces the clip, as part of the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award ceremony honoring MacLaine. The event was held nearly three weeks ago and was aired on TV Land this Sunday. This obviously hand-held recording looks like it was shot directly from the tv screen.

Time to update your read-alike lists (we’ve listed a few new titles to consider, after the jump).

The Absolutist by John Boyne, (Other Press, 7/10) — recommended for fans of Downton Abbey by LJ‘s Barbara Genco at the BEA Librarian’s “Shout ‘n’ Share” session because it features a soldier who returns to London in 1919. (Digital ARC on Edelweiss and NetGalley).

Park Lane by Frances Osborne (RH/Vintage, 6/12) — see our story, For Downton Abbey Fans

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones (Harper, 5/1) — see our story, For Downton Abbey Fans

Elegy for Eddie, Jacqueline Winspear (Harper, 3/27) — the ninth in the Maisie Dobbs series, about a British WWI nurse, who began working at age thirteen as a servant in a London mansion. The series begins in 1929, so it’s a bit later than Downton Abbey.

To Marry an English Lord, by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace (Workman, 1989; reissued in trade pbk in March) — The show’s creator, Julian Fellowes, said this was a major inspiration for the series.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 at 10:22 am and is filed under Books & TV, Readers Advisory. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.