Victor Hugo Tea Towel

$CAD28.60
100% Organic Cotton
Made in the UK
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  • Sturdy half panama unbleached US cotton (19" x 27.5")
  • Our special inks mean that colours last in the wash
  • Includes hanging loop
  • Shipping nationwide with USPS, free on orders over $35
  • 100-day money back guarantee if you change your mind
‘Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.’

We’ll believe Victor Hugo on that one. After all, he had some pretty powerful ideas – so powerful, in fact, that he received 300,000 francs (equivalent to £3m today) for the publishing rights to his epic historical novel Les Misérables, the highest figure ever paid for a work of literature. The novel was more than 1,500 pages long, and to create it, Hugo employed a unique strategy, removing his clothes and locking himself in an empty room with nothing but a pen and paper to distract him. Today, he’s considered one of the greatest French writers ever.

He was pretty celebrated in his time as well ­– the street he lived on was named after him while he was still alive, and his 80th birthday was declared a national holiday, with a procession of 600,000 people walking past his front door while he waved. Hugo enjoyed the fame, but he also used his status to push for radical social change. After being elected to the French National Assembly in 1848, he broke with conservatives to call for universal suffrage, free education for all children, and an end to poverty, as well as launching an internationally renowned campaign to abolish the death penalty.

So, if you’ve got a friend who’s been feeling a little Misérable lately, here’s the perfect literary gift to cheer them up!

Half Panama unbleached cotton (heavy weight, textured finish). Stitched on all four sides. Includes hanging loop. Measures approximately 19in x 27.5in. Machine wash at 110 degrees max. We recommend that before you use your tea towel for the first time you wash it at least once to soften up the material and make it more absorbent for drying dishes. Please note size can vary slightly.

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  • 5
    Radical Tea Towels for Everyone

    Posted by Rosellen Weider on Jan 10th 2024

    I've been giving Radical Tea Towels as Christmas gifts to my family for the past 3 years, and they seem delighted to receive them. Victor Hugo was perfect for the college French student. Towels commemorating Suffrage, Stonewall, Chicago anarchists, Shea's Rebellion and the Boston Tea Party were also just right for the recipients. The towels are high quality, large tea towels, delivered promptly.