During the first few years of marriage, the Masefields had very little income and depended mostly upon the monies that Constance had brought into the marriage. Therefore, Masefield spent most of his time reviewing books for several periodicals, and often had lists of up to 80 books at a time to submit reviews for. Masefield drove himself at his work, practicing his craft, still sure of his goals. Eventually, he was offered a position with the �Manchester Guardian� working night shift. In spite of the demands placed upon him, he continued to produce his own works including continuing with the book reviews, and even began to write plays over the next several years. Although by critical standards his plays were not rated highly, they were well attended by the public. His literary efforts were finally rewarded with the publishing of two novels, �Captain Margaret� in 1908 and �Multitude and Solitude� in 1909, then in 1911, after a long drought of poem writing, Masefield composed what is, by many critics, considered his finest poem, �The Everlasting Mercy�.