Fowler married Daisy Bastow in 1898, with whom he had a daughter and three sons. He remained in Melbourne after losing his seat in parliament, where he worked as a freelance writer. He wrote short stories and newspaper articles, sometimes using the pseudonyms Hamish Mackinnon and James Evandale. He also wrote an unpublished novel, The Day of Demos, which was inspired by being "driven slowly but surely to the conclusion that democracy as a system of government is a rank failure". He died at his home in Malvern on 3 November 1940, aged 77.
