Jane Austen Novels as Scented Candles

What is the point of this post? I really have no idea (see note at end of post). I’m not even a big candle person. I own like two scented candles and I’m pretty sure at least one of them was a Secret Santa gift from a coworker.

But just in case you were looking for more scented candle/Jane Austen content I guess this one is for you. You’re welcome.

Emma: Lemon Lavender

According to Yankee Candle’s website, Lemon Lavender is their bestselling scent, and you know Miss Emma Woodhouse would be on trend with her candle scents. This scent also seems to fit Emma really well: the biting tartness of lemons combined with the subtle floral spiciness of lavender.

Sense & Sensibility: Jasmine Green Tea

Sense & Sensibility kind of needs two scents, one for each of the two elder Dashwood sisters. But I think this combo scent is a good compromise; Marianne is the Jasmine and Elinor is the Green Tea. Don’t ask me why, I don’t make the rules here… but you know it’s true.

Pride & Prejudice: Autumn Wreath

I think I associate Pride & Prejudice with the fall season because I tend to reread it in autumn. But a lot of the significant events in the book also happen in autumn (or maybe technically late summer): the Netherfield Ball and the Bennets’ early acquaintance with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, as well as the conclusion of the book. Plus, you know how basic b*tches love fall, and P&P is the most basic Austen book? (I reread it every September while sipping a pumpkin spice latte and wearing an oversized chunky knit sweater, so it’s me. I’m basic b*tches.)

Sanditon: Sun & Sand

Yes, this is an obvious choice, but did you really expect a wintry scent like pine or twilight woods or something? Sanditon is Jane Austen’s beachiest read; it literally takes place on a beach. Of course, Austen’s actual manuscript is just a fragment of a novel, but both the 2019 TV series and the novel completed by Another Lady in 1975 (generally accepted among Janeites, at least to my knowledge, as the best completed version) take place largely in a touristy beach town in the summer.

Northanger Abbey: Midsummer Night

Northanger Abbey is kind of the black sheep of Austen’s books (which is probably why it’s my favorite), so it’s only fitting for it to have a black candle. The novel satirizes gothic fiction conventions, so a nighttime-themed scent also seems appropriate. Plus Henry Tilney is my favorite Austen hero, and the candle’s official description sounds perfect: “An intoxicating and masculine blend of musk, patchouli, sage and mahogany cologne.”

Lady Susan: Cranberry Chutney

The crisp tartness of cranberries and the spice of orange zest seem like a perfect description of Lady Susan Vernon, the titular character of Austen’s epistolary story Lady Susan (adapted into the 2016 film Love & Friendship). The story also depicts a rambling, dysfunctional family, the likes of which this candle’s evocation of Thanksgiving dinners may be a reminder for many…

Persuasion: Lilac Blossom

Anne Elliot is classy and old-fashioned, and the scent of lilacs is classic and old-fashioned, too, but not stuffy or stale. Persuasion, more than any other Austen novel, also always reminds me of an English country garden (or at least my conception of an English country garden; I’ve never been to an English country garden, or anywhere in England besides Heathrow on a layover), and though they are not native to England, lilacs just seem so quintessentially English.

Mansfield Park: French Vanilla

Much like Mansfield Park, French Vanilla has a bit of a reputation for being boring. However, also much like Mansfield Park, there is a richness and complexity to French Vanilla that many don’t appreciate at first glance. The French Vanilla scent has deep notes of butter, chocolate, and malted sugar; Mansfield Park has deep messages of justice, morality, and loyalty, as well as a heroine whose quiet strength and moral fortitude are misunderstood by the other characters and readers alike. If you’ve written off either the scent or the novel, both deserve a closer look.

---

Note: all of these scented candles are from Yankee Candle, but Yankee Candle is not sponsoring this post. I don’t even own any Yankee Candles. I just Googled “popular candle scents” and one of the first results was this list ranking 50 Yankee Candle scents. According to a lot of moms, Yankees are the best candles, but dang they are expensive.