In much of his work Fowles has continued the long tradition of literary satire.

Fowles's novels are characterised by existential motifs, psychological insight and postmodern literary techniques.

Fowles combined contemporary moral problems with ironic tone and paradoxes, often turning the stage into a forum of ideas.

Fowles is the master of layered story-telling and purposefully ambiguous endings, whose protagonists must confront their past, in order to gain their personal freedom.