Henry Darger, author and illustrator of the epic 15,145-page The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, lived a modest life working as a hospital janitor in Chicago. His magnum opus, The Story of the Vivian Girls..., was discovered by accident, post-humously. I am awed (and admittedly, a bit baffled) by the thought of a work like this being created without its maker ever seeking an audience.
Some excerpts from Darger's illustrated novel:
