Illustration of Ned rowing a small boat on the Thames with Will and Bess, the Great Fire of London glowing behind old St Paul’s and the house-lined London Bridge.
The Night London BurnedFirst adventure · Coming soon

Historical audio adventures · Designed for ages 7–10

Give his imagination heroes worth following.

Thirty-minute audio adventures from real history, for boys aged 7–10. Each one has a hero he’ll want to be, a ticking clock, proper laughs, and true facts he’ll be telling you at dinner.

For car journeys, Lego afternoons and imaginative play.

Who you’ll meet

  • Illustration of Ned, a grinning boy in a linen shirt and waistcoat, striding beside the Thames.

    Ned

    An eager carpenter’s son.

  • Illustration of Will, a curly-haired boy in a red coat mid-sentence with a raised finger.

    Will

    His funny, faithful friend.

  • Illustration of Bess, a small girl in a cap and apron watching something closely.

    Bess

    Ned’s observant younger sister.

One city ablaze. One boy with a choice.

The Night London Burned

London, 1666 · Historical fiction · Designed for ages 7–10

London, 1666. Ned secretly bodges a broken gate. That night the Great Fire breaks out, and his elderly neighbour is trapped behind it. The grown-ups can’t open it, and only Ned knows why. To get her out before the fire reaches the river, he must own up and fix it himself.

Planned as three short chapters: a complete adventure of around half an hour.

Read the opening

Why he’ll ask for it again.

  • A hero he wants to be.

    Not a bystander. In every story, the boy makes the brave move himself, while grown-ups hold the rope.

  • A clock that keeps ticking.

    The fire reaching the river. The tide covering the path. Sunrise. Suspense he can feel, never cruelty or gore.

  • Proper laughs.

    A hen loose in a rowing boat. An eel up a sleeve. A rider who has sworn an oath not to swear.

  • True things to tell you at dinner.

    Samuel Pepys buried his parmesan to save it from the Great Fire. King Alfred hid from the Vikings on an island in a swamp. Pony Express riders swore not to swear.

One storyteller’s voice, three chapters, around 30 minutes. Your child supplies the pictures.

The adventures ahead

Fifty adventures. Thousands of years. Heroes worth following.

Start in the smoke-filled streets of London. Then journey backwards from Cold War secrets and daring rescues to storm-tossed ships, medieval workshops and ancient wonders. Explore the first 50 planned Adventure FM stories.

Explore all 50 adventures

A taste of what’s coming

Ned searching the burnt ruins of London for Father’s lost account book after the Great Fire.

Adventure 27 · Who Deserves Your Loyalty?

London after the Great Fire, England

The Missing Ledger

London, after the Great Fire. Ned is desperate to beat Father’s new apprentice, so he takes a forbidden shortcut through the burnt city, and Father’s account book vanishes. Now Matthew is blamed, a timber merchant wants paying twice, and the only way to put it right is back down into the ruins.

In developmentRead the opening
Osric guiding a giant messenger through misty Somerset marshes before dawn, 878.

Adventure 40 · Kingdoms, Raiders and the Stranger

Athelney and the Somerset marshes, Wessex

The Marsh King’s Messenger

Somerset, 878. King Alfred is hiding in the marshes, and Osric, an eel-catcher’s son who wants to be a warrior, has lost the king’s only boat. Now he must guide a giant messenger along hidden paths under the water before dawn, when a whole village leaves Wessex for good.

In developmentRead the opening
Illustration of Caleb beside his Pony Express horse, looking towards an injured rider on the Nebraska trail.

Adventure 16 · Promises on the Long Road

Near Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory, United States

The Pony Express Promise

Nebraska, 1860. Caleb wants to be the fastest rider on the Pony Express, so he skips the boring jobs, and a rider falls. Now the news of the new President is stuck in the Platte River’s quicksand, and the westbound rider leaves at sunrise. The only horse left is the slowest one.

In developmentRead the opening
Illustration of Perce carrying supplies across Antarctic pack ice with Endurance trapped behind him.

Adventure 09 · Further Than Anyone Thought

The Weddell Sea and Elephant Island, Antarctica

The Ship Beneath the Ice

Young stowaway Perce Blackborow gets the adventure he wanted when he joins Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition. Then ice crushes their ship. Stranded far from home and unable to walk, Perce must depend on his companions as they struggle to keep everyone alive and bring help back.

In developmentDiscover the story
Illustration of Ben and Cora watching Rafe hold a small chest inside a Nassau cooper’s workshop.

Adventure 25 · Who Deserves Your Loyalty?

Nassau, the Bahamas

The Pirate Who Wanted a Receipt

Ben finally meets a pirate—but Rafe wants to return stolen goods, not bury treasure. When another pirate comes to take them back, Ben and Cora are caught in a struggle over the chest. Their cooperage becomes a hiding place, and Ben’s dream of adventure suddenly feels very real.

In developmentDiscover the story
Illustration of Seneb offering water to a tired worker at the organised Giza pyramid building site around 2550 BC.

Adventure 50 · What Makes a Civilisation?

Giza, Old Kingdom Egypt

The Stone That Wouldn’t Move

At Giza, Seneb longs to work beside the great stones instead of carrying supplies. But when a load stalls and a worker becomes exhausted, he and Meret discover the missing water delivery. Helping the builders means leaving his prized view and finding what the crew actually needs.

In developmentDiscover the story

Made for the car, the floor and the long way round.

Start on the website. We’ll confirm downloads and podcast apps when the first adventure is ready.

A boy in the back seat of a car, imagining a sailing ship in the clouds outside the window.

For the journey

Turn the school run or a stretch of motorway into a story you can share. One chapter for a short trip. More when the road is long.

A child's hands building a model ship from bricks and wood, with pencils and headphones nearby.

For hands that like to build

A story in their ears. Bricks, pencils or a half-built ship in their hands. Room for their own imagination to do its work.

A parent and two children talking around a kitchen table in the evening.

For the conversations afterwards

Would you have gone back? Should he have told the truth? A good adventure gives a family something worth talking about.

The stories they love help shape who they become.

Boys become what they admire, and they learn what to admire from stories.

Before a boy can explain courage, he can picture someone going back for a friend. Before he can define honour, he knows what it feels like when a hero keeps his word.

Stories give children people to admire, choices to imagine and courage to borrow. We want to fill that world with people worth following: boys who make mistakes and put them right; men whose strength makes others safer; friends who learn to be faithful when it costs them something.

The stories they’ll ask for again, and the men you hope they’ll become.

A storyteller by a fireside telling a story to two children and their mother.

For parents.

What is Adventure FM?

Original historical audio adventures you play on demand — not a radio station or live stream — designed especially for boys aged 7–10 and families who enjoy listening together. Expect friendship, humour, suspense and characters facing meaningful choices.

Are the stories only for boys?

Boys are at the heart of our stories. Sisters, friends and grown-ups are welcome. We’re creating adventures the whole family can enjoy.

Are they true stories?

Most are historical fiction: invented heroes in real places and times. A few dramatise real people, such as Perce Blackborow, the young stowaway on Shackleton’s expedition, with reconstructed dialogue labelled as such. Each finished story says what’s true and what’s invented.

How long are they?

The first free adventure is planned as three short chapters, around half an hour in total. We’ll publish exact chapter lengths when it is ready.

Do we need an app or a special player?

The first listening route will be the website. Downloads and any supported podcast or player options will be explained clearly at release. You won’t need to buy a dedicated player to try the story.

Is it a subscription?

The first complete adventure will be free. We’re planning a monthly membership with the released catalogue and new adventures every month, with self-service cancellation. Price and launch details will be confirmed before checkout opens.

What values run through the stories?

The old virtues that good men are made of. Courage that steps forward when it counts. Strength used to protect, never to bully. Keeping his word. Telling the truth, even when it costs him. Finishing the job, including the dull part. Standing by his friends, his family and his nation. Gentleness towards the small or weak. And the humility to own a mistake, ask forgiveness and put it right.

These virtues grew up in the Christian tradition that shaped much of the history our stories come from. Our heroes don’t preach them. They live them, get them wrong, and sometimes learn them the hard way.

Will they be frightening?

They’re exciting, not frightening. There’s real danger the hero can act on, and a clock to beat, but no gore, cruelty or long helpless waiting. Every chapter ends with a question rather than a scare, and every story ends safe and settled. They’re made to be enjoyed on their own, after you press play.

Made with our own children in mind.

Created by David Magee, a father of three, from a simple conviction: the people our children admire matter. We want to make adventures children choose for themselves, and stories parents are glad to share.

Be there for the first adventure.

Big adventures. Heroes worth following.

Our parent list opens soon. The first complete adventure will be free.