This novel's preface states that a writer can "mellow the lights and deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture" when  writing a romance, which is distinguished from writing a novel. In this novel, an ancient race of birds once laid massive  eggs, but have shriveled into lanky chickens by years of breeding. One of its characters is repulsed by two lower-class  laborers discussing the prospects of her store, whose first customer, Ned Higgins, orders all the gingerbread 
This novel's preface states that a writer can "mellow the lights and deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture" when  writing a romance, which is distinguished from writing a novel. In this novel, an ancient race of birds once laid massive  eggs, but have shriveled into lanky chickens by years of breeding. One of its characters is repulsed by two lower-class  laborers discussing the prospects of her store, whose first customer, Ned Higgins, orders all the gingerbread animals. In  this novel, a set of flowers nicknamed "Alice's posies" bloom just before a judge (*) hemorrhages blood, reflecting the curse  "God will give him blood to drink!" In this novel, Clifford is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his uncle. Matthew Maule's  curse on the central family of this novel seemingly ends with the marriage of Holgrave and Phoebe. For 10 points, name this  novel about the Pyncheon family, the inhabitants of the title decaying New England mansion, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
This novel's preface states that a writer can "mellow the lights and deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture" when  writing a romance, which is distinguished from writing a novel.