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I read a lot of 18th and 19th century novels, as well as more modern stuff. The writing style of the late 18th and 19th centuries is completely different to the way modern writers write, and you need to make a definite mental adjustment to be able to enjoy it, I find.
When I first read Jane Austen, for example, I found it unbearably tedious. Why would anyone want to read this? Nothing HAPPENS! It's just people gossipping about each other and having tea parties and dances. But someone gave me a piece of useful advice: don't try to rush it and EXPECT things to happen. Just take it as it comes, and enjoy it. And you know what? It worked. 18th and 19th century novels were written to be slowly savoured, not gulped down. Relax. Take it slowly, and absorb the atmosphere. For me, at least, something "clicked" and I "got it".
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