This is a study of plot-structure and characterization in the novels and short stories of E.M. Forster that aims to bring out certain unique and distinctive features of his fiction. It examines recurring patterns of events and personal relationships which, it is argued, are significantly present in all of Forster's major fiction and in most of his survivng short stories. After an introduction that looks particularly at recurring character-types in Forster's stories, the study examines his fictional writings in chronological order of composition. What emerges is not only the repeated use of certain fictional patterns, but also observations on specific ways in which Forster grew and developed as a novelist. In drawing these observations together, the conclusion attempts to place Forster in relation to some of the main traditions of English fiction.