I didn’t think I’d like Georgian period romances written in the 1930s, but then I found Georgette Heyer and realised that in fact I love them. Consistently witty, with the settings, period detail - especially the language - and characters all sufficiently strong that the fact you know the spirited young heiress will in fact end up with the haughty yet kindly viscount 12 years her senior doesn’t deter you at all. Like Wodehouse, it’s the journey, not the destination. Bonus - she wrote a lot of them, so if you do like them you’ll be set for a while.
ETA - didn’t think I’d be the first to mention Heyer on here, and behold, she had an appreciation thread a while back: Slap Up to the Echo: The Georgette Heyer Appreciation Thread