The Failing Forge & The Cold Catch

The Cornerstone Story Collection — High School

Two complete novellas in one volume, written for readers in grades 9–12 — substantial, unhurried historical fiction about the fire kept alive at the hearth - through faithful work and through mercy.

The Failing Forge. Trygve wakes the smithy fire before the village stirs, the way his father taught him, though the forge is failing and the work is thin. What it takes to keep a fire - and a trade, and a family - burning true through a hard winter is the quiet inheritance at the heart of this story.

The Cold Catch. Two fishing families have hated each other since the night the feud was born over a herring shoal and two men were lost. Now, in a starving winter, only one family has fish - and the other's children are going hungry. Jem must decide whether an old grudge is worth more than the bread in his hands.

Set in richly imagined working worlds — herring boats and hill farms, smithies and droving roads — these are stories that trust their readers: no easy lessons, no thin characters, only real people carrying real weight and choosing well at real cost. Together the pair turns on faithfulness, stewardship, and costly mercy.

Ideal for the classical or Charlotte Mason high-school reader, for family read-aloud and discussion, and for anyone who wants literature that forms character without ever preaching. A companion to the elementary volumes of The Cornerstone Story Collection, written for older hearts and longer attention.

This volume includes two complete novellas:

• The Failing Forge
• The Cold Catch

Choose your format: Paperback (6 x 9 in, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).