"Comic genius of the highest order." -C.H. Herford, 1899 The Misfortunes of Elphin (1829), by Thomas Love Peacock, is a historical romance and satire, set in 6th century Wales, about the adventures of the bard Talies, the princes Elphin and Seithenyn, and King Arthur. This romance is considered to be among the finest Arthurian literary work of the Romantic period. Peacock was one of the first to use the word kakistocracy in this novel, which he described as the opposite of aristocracy.