By the age of 24, Masefield�s poems were being published frequently in various periodicals and his first collected works, �Salt-Water Ballads� was published and enjoyed immediate success. "Sea Fever", one of, if not the widest known poem of Masefield�s, appeared in this book.

When Masefield was 23, he met the woman who was to become his wife. Constance Crommelin, a descendant of the Huguenots who had fled France to Northern Ireland because of Roman Catholic persecution, was 35 years old at the meeting. Educated in classics and English Literature, and a teacher of mathematics, Constance was a perfect match for Masefield despite the huge difference in age. Although it must have been difficult for Constance to leave her social status and elegant lifestyle for a life of relative poverty, she brought with her a belief in her husband which encouraged him throughout the rest of his life. Masefield displayed his own adoration of Constance, and during periods of separation by necessity, the quantities of letters he wrote her, both before and after their marriage, indicate the love and respect he had for her. It would seem that Constance brought into Masefield�s life those qualities he required to guarantee his future success. Constance also was a great woman in her own right, and although she was much older than her husband, Masefield enriched her life and was an encouragement to her as well. The couple had 2 children, a son and a daughter.