jane austen lived her entire life as part of a large and close family. her family was in the lower part of the english gentry. her family's steady support was very important to austen's development as a writer. for example, austen read her first drafts of all of her books to her family. in this way, she received encouragement and help. in fact, it was her father who first tried to put her book in print. austen's training as a writer lasted from when she was a teenager until she was about 35. during this time, she experimented with different literary forms. this included the epistolary novel (novel in letters), which she tried and did not like. she wrote and revised three important novels and began a fourth. when "sense and sensibility" (1811), "pride and prejudice" (1813), "mansfield park" (1814) and "emma" (1815) came out in print, she became a successful writer.