Fail to observe pet Dickens kept in foreign tale (10)

I believe the answer is:

contravene

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'fail to observe' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for contravene that I've seen before include "Fail to comply" , "Break" , "Go against (a rule)" , "Go against (rules)" , "Conflict with" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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