In the first half of the 19th century, Heinrich Zschokke (1771-1848), who was born in Magdeburg and had lived in Switzerland since 1796, was one of the most widely read authors in the German language. In addition, he advocated for the consolidation of the Canton of Aargau, founded in 1803, as a publicist, politician, and educator, and as the author of a popular history of Switzerland that spanned decades, he aimed to foster a national identity based on liberal principles in a country still undergoing transformation. In the early 1820s, he wrote several historical novels and stories with the same intention. "Der Freihof von Aarau" (1822/24) is set during the time of the Old Zurich War (1444), when the still fragile Confederation was on the brink of collapse due to internal conflicts. Zschokke's narrative tension was as important as the historical information he provided.