  A search for novae in M49 (NGC 4472) has been undertaken with the Hubble
Space Telescope. A 55-day observing campaign in F555W (19 epochs) and F814W
(five epochs) has led to the discovery of nine novae. We find that M49 may be
under-abundant in slow, faint novae relative to the Milky Way and M31. Instead,
the decline rates of the M49 novae are remarkably similar to those of novae in
the LMC. This fact argues against a simple classification of novae in "bulge"
and "disk" sub-classes. We examine the Maximum-Magnitude versus Rate of Decline
(MMRD) relation for novae in M49, finding only marginal agreement with the
Galactic and M31 MMRD relations. A recalibration of the Buscombe-de Vaucouleurs
relation gives an absolute magnitude 15 days past maximum of M_{V,15} =
-6.36+/-0.19, which is substantially brighter than previous calibrations based
on Galactic novae. Monte Carlo simulations yield a global nova rate for M49 of
100{+35}{-30} per year, and a luminosity-specific nova rate in the range \nu_K
= 1.7-2.5 per year per 10^{-10} L_K,solar. These rates are far lower than those
predicted by current models of nova production in elliptical galaxies and may
point to a relative scarity of novae progenitors, or an increased recurrence
timescale, in early-type environments.
