diff --git a/COPYRIGHT b/COPYRIGHT
--- a/COPYRIGHT
+++ b/COPYRIGHT
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 The HaXml library and tools were written by and are copyright to
     (c) copyright 1998-1999    Malcolm Wallace and Colin Runciman
-    (c) copyright 2000-2012    Malcolm Wallace
+    (c) copyright 2000-2013    Malcolm Wallace
 
 The HaXml library is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser
 General Public Licence (LGPL), which can be found in the file called
diff --git a/HaXml.cabal b/HaXml.cabal
--- a/HaXml.cabal
+++ b/HaXml.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name:		HaXml
-version:	1.23.3
+version:	1.24
 license:	LGPL
 license-file:	COPYRIGHT
 author:		Malcolm Wallace <Malcolm.Wallace@me.com>
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
     exposed-modules:
         Text.XML.HaXml.Schema.Schema
   hs-source-dirs: src
-  build-depends: polyparse >= 1.5, filepath
+  build-depends: polyparse >= 1.9, filepath
   if flag(splitBase)
     build-depends: base >= 3 && < 6, pretty, random, containers
   else
@@ -76,63 +76,63 @@
   else
     build-depends: base < 2 || >= 3, bytestring
   extensions: CPP, ExistentialQuantification
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   nhc98-options: -K10M
 
 Executable Canonicalise
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: Canonicalise.hs
 
 Executable CanonicaliseLazy
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: CanonicaliseLazy.hs
 
 Executable Xtract
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: Xtract.hs
 
 Executable Validate
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: Validate.hs
 
 Executable MkOneOf
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: MkOneOf.hs
 
 Executable DtdToHaskell
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: DtdToHaskell.hs
 
 Executable XsdToHaskell
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: XsdToHaskell.hs
 
 Executable FpMLToHaskell
   GHC-Options: -Wall
   Extensions:  CPP
   Hs-Source-Dirs: src/tools, src
-  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=23
+  cpp-options: -DMAJOR=1 -DMINOR=24
   Main-Is: FpMLToHaskell.hs
   build-depends: directory
 
diff --git a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/Parse.hs b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/Parse.hs
--- a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/Parse.hs
+++ b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/Parse.hs
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@
 cdsect :: HParser CDSect
 cdsect = do
     tok TokSectionOpen
-    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (tok TokSectionClose) chardata
+    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (commit $ tok TokSectionClose) chardata
 
 prolog :: HParser Prolog
 prolog = do
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@
 versioninfo = do
     (word "version" `onFail` word "VERSION")
     tok TokEqual
-    bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
 
 misc :: HParser Misc
 misc = 
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@
     commit $ do
       n <- qname
       eid <- maybe externalid
---    es <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (tok TokSqClose)) (many markupdecl)
+--    es <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (commit $ tok TokSqClose)) (many markupdecl)
       tok TokAnyClose  `onFail` failP "missing > in DOCTYPE decl"
 --    return (DTD n eid (case es of { Nothing -> []; Just e -> e }))
       return (DTD n eid [])
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@
     (word "standalone" `onFail` word "STANDALONE")
     commit $ do
       tok TokEqual `onFail` failP "missing = in 'standalone' decl"
-      bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+      bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
               ( (word "yes" >> return True) `onFail`
                 (word "no" >> return False) `onFail`
                 failP "'standalone' decl requires 'yes' or 'no' value" )
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@
               return ([], Elem (N e) avs [])) `onFail`
      --  ( do tok TokAnyClose	-- sequence <tag></tag>	(**not HTML?**)
      --       debug (e++"[+")
-     --       n <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (tok TokAnyClose) qname
+     --       n <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (commit $ tok TokAnyClose) qname
      --       debug "]"
      --       if e == (map toLower n :: Name) 
      --         then return ([], Elem e avs [])      
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@
          ( do tok TokAnyClose `onFail` failP "missing > or /> in element tag"
               debug (e++"[")
            -- zz <- many (content e)
-           -- n <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (tok TokAnyClose) qname
+           -- n <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (commit $ tok TokAnyClose) qname
               zz <- manyFinally (content e)
                                 (tok TokEndOpen)
               (N n) <- qname
@@ -575,12 +575,12 @@
 
 entityref :: HParser EntityRef
 entityref = do
-    n <- bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) name
+    n <- bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) name
     return n
 
 charref :: HParser CharRef
 charref = do
-    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
   where
     readCharVal ('#':'x':i) = return . fst . head . readHex $ i
     readCharVal ('#':i)     = return . fst . head . readDec $ i
@@ -668,7 +668,7 @@
 encodingdecl = do
     (word "encoding" `onFail` word "ENCODING")
     tok TokEqual `onFail` failBadP "expected = in 'encoding' decl"
-    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (EncodingDecl f)
 
 --notationdecl :: HParser NotationDecl
@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@
 
 --entityvalue :: HParser EntityValue
 --entityvalue = do
---    evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) (many ev)
+--    evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) (many ev)
 --    return (EntityValue evs)
 
 --ev :: HParser EV
@@ -699,7 +699,7 @@
 
 attvalue :: HParser AttValue
 attvalue =
-  ( do avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+  ( do avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
                       (many (either freetext reference))
        return (AttValue avs) ) `onFail`
   ( do v <- nmtoken
@@ -714,12 +714,12 @@
 
 systemliteral :: HParser SystemLiteral
 systemliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (SystemLiteral s)		-- note: need to fold &...; escapes
 
 pubidliteral :: HParser PubidLiteral
 pubidliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (PubidLiteral s)		-- note: need to fold &...; escapes
 
 chardata :: HParser CharData
diff --git a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/ParseLazy.hs b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/ParseLazy.hs
--- a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/ParseLazy.hs
+++ b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Html/ParseLazy.hs
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@
 cdsect :: HParser CDSect
 cdsect = do
     tok TokSectionOpen
-    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (tok TokSectionClose) chardata
+    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (commit $ tok TokSectionClose) chardata
 
 prolog :: HParser Prolog
 prolog = do
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@
 versioninfo = do
     (word "version" `onFail` word "VERSION")
     tok TokEqual
-    bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
 
 misc :: HParser Misc
 misc =
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@
     commit $ do
       n <- qname
       eid <- maybe externalid
---    es <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (tok TokSqClose)) (many markupdecl)
+--    es <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (commit $ tok TokSqClose)) (many markupdecl)
       tok TokAnyClose  `onFail` failP "missing > in DOCTYPE decl"
 --    return (DTD n eid (case es of { Nothing -> []; Just e -> e }))
       return (DTD n eid [])
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@
     (word "standalone" `onFail` word "STANDALONE")
     commit $ do
       tok TokEqual `onFail` failP "missing = in 'standalone' decl"
-      bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+      bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
               ( (word "yes" >> return True) `onFail`
                 (word "no" >> return False) `onFail`
                 failP "'standalone' decl requires 'yes' or 'no' value" )
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@
               return ([], Elem (N e) avs [])) `onFail`
      --  ( do tok TokAnyClose	-- sequence <tag></tag>	(**not HTML?**)
      --       debug (e++"[+")
-     --       n <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (tok TokAnyClose) qname
+     --       n <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (commit $ tok TokAnyClose) qname
      --       debug "]"
      --       if e == (map toLower n :: Name)
      --         then return ([], Elem e avs [])
@@ -514,12 +514,12 @@
 --notationtype :: HParser NotationType
 --notationtype = do
 --    word "NOTATION"
---    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (tok TokBraClose)
+--    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (commit $ tok TokBraClose)
 --            (name `sepby1` (tok TokPipe))
 --
 --enumeration :: HParser Enumeration
 --enumeration =
---    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (tok TokBraClose)
+--    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (commit $ tok TokBraClose)
 --            (nmtoken `sepby1` (tok TokPipe))
 --
 --defaultdecl :: HParser DefaultDecl
@@ -576,12 +576,12 @@
 
 entityref :: HParser EntityRef
 entityref = do
-    n <- bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) name
+    n <- bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) name
     return n
 
 charref :: HParser CharRef
 charref = do
-    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
   where
     readCharVal ('#':'x':i) = return . fst . head . readHex $ i
     readCharVal ('#':i)     = return . fst . head . readDec $ i
@@ -669,7 +669,7 @@
 encodingdecl = do
     (word "encoding" `onFail` word "ENCODING")
     tok TokEqual `onFail` failBadP "expected = in 'encoding' decl"
-    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (EncodingDecl f)
 
 --notationdecl :: HParser NotationDecl
@@ -689,7 +689,7 @@
 
 --entityvalue :: HParser EntityValue
 --entityvalue = do
---    evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) (many ev)
+--    evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) (many ev)
 --    return (EntityValue evs)
 
 --ev :: HParser EV
@@ -700,7 +700,7 @@
 
 attvalue :: HParser AttValue
 attvalue =
-  ( do avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+  ( do avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
                       (many (either freetext reference))
        return (AttValue avs) ) `onFail`
   ( do v <- nmtoken
@@ -715,12 +715,12 @@
 
 systemliteral :: HParser SystemLiteral
 systemliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (SystemLiteral s)		-- note: need to fold &...; escapes
 
 pubidliteral :: HParser PubidLiteral
 pubidliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (PubidLiteral s)		-- note: need to fold &...; escapes
 
 chardata :: HParser CharData
diff --git a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Lex.hs b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Lex.hs
--- a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Lex.hs
+++ b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Lex.hs
@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@
     | close `prefixes` (s:ss)  = emit (TokFreeText (reverse acc)) pos:
                                  emit tok p:
                                  skip (length close-1) (addcol 1 p) ss k
+    | tok==TokSemi && length acc >= 8 -- special case for repairing broken &
+                               = emit (TokFreeText "amp") pos:
+                                 emit tok pos:
+                                 k (addcol 1 pos) (reverse acc++s:ss)
     | isSpace s  = textUntil close tok (s:acc) pos (white s p) ss k
     | otherwise  = textUntil close tok (s:acc) pos (addcol 1 p) ss k
 
diff --git a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Parse.hs b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Parse.hs
--- a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Parse.hs
+++ b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Parse.hs
@@ -155,13 +155,6 @@
 
 ---- Auxiliary Parsing Functions ----
 
--- | Parse a bracketed item, discarding the brackets AND NOT using adjustErrBad
-myBracket :: PolyParse p => p bra -> p ket -> p a -> p a
-myBracket open close p = do
-    do { open    `adjustErr` ("Missing opening bracket:\n\t"++)
-       ; p `discard` (close `adjustErr` ("Missing closing bracket:\n\t"++))
-       }
-
 -- | XParser is just a specialisation of the PolyState parser.
 type XParser a = Parser SymTabs (Posn,TokenT) a
 
@@ -307,7 +300,7 @@
 -- | Return an XML comment.
 comment :: XParser Comment
 comment = do
-    myBracket (tok TokCommentOpen) (tok TokCommentClose) freetext
+    bracket (tok TokCommentOpen) (tok TokCommentClose) freetext
 --  tok TokCommentOpen
 --  commit $ do
 --    c <- freetext
@@ -327,7 +320,7 @@
 cdsect :: XParser CDSect
 cdsect = do
     tok TokSectionOpen
-    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (tok TokSectionClose) chardata
+    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (commit $ tok TokSectionClose) chardata
 
 prolog :: XParser Prolog
 prolog = do
@@ -358,7 +351,7 @@
 versioninfo = do
     (word "version" `onFail` word "VERSION")
     tok TokEqual
-    bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
 
 misc :: XParser Misc
 misc =
@@ -374,7 +367,7 @@
     commit $ do
       n   <- qname
       eid <- maybe externalid
-      es  <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (tok TokSqClose)
+      es  <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (commit $ tok TokSqClose)
                             (many (peRef markupdecl)))
       blank (tok TokAnyClose)  `onFail` failP "missing > in DOCTYPE decl"
       return (DTD n eid (case es of { Nothing -> []; Just e -> e }))
@@ -408,7 +401,7 @@
     (word "standalone" `onFail` word "STANDALONE")
     commit $ do
       tok TokEqual `onFail` failP "missing = in 'standalone' decl"
-      bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+      bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
               ( (word "yes" >> return True) `onFail`
                 (word "no" >> return False) `onFail`
                 failP "'standalone' decl requires 'yes' or 'no' value" )
@@ -425,7 +418,7 @@
              ,  do tok TokAnyClose
                    cs <- many content
                    p  <- posn
-                   m  <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (tok TokAnyClose) qname
+                   m  <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (commit $ tok TokAnyClose) qname
                    checkmatch p n m
                    return (Elem n as cs))
            ] `adjustErr` (("in element tag "++n++",\n")++)
@@ -445,7 +438,7 @@
                  manyFinally content
                              (do p <- posn
                                  m <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen)
-                                              (tok TokAnyClose) qname
+                                              (commit $ tok TokAnyClose) qname
                                  checkmatch p n m)
       ) `adjustErrBad` (("in element tag "++printableName n++",\n")++)
 
@@ -515,7 +508,7 @@
     blank (tok TokAnyClose) `onFail` failBadP
        ("expected > terminating ELEMENT decl"
        ++"\n    element name was "++show (printableName n)
-       ++"\n    contentspec was "++(\ (ContentSpec p)-> show p) c)
+       ++"\n    contentspec was "++(\ (ContentSpec p)-> debugShowCP p) c)
     return (ElementDecl n c)
 
 contentspec :: XParser ContentSpec
@@ -530,29 +523,29 @@
 
 choice :: XParser [CP]
 choice = do
-    myBracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying choice")
-              (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with choice"))
-              (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokPipe))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying choice")
+            (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with choice"))
+            (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokPipe))
 
 sequence :: XParser [CP]
 sequence = do
- myBracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying sequence")
-           (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with sequence"))
-           (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokComma))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying sequence")
+            (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with sequence"))
+            (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokComma))
 
 cp :: XParser CP
 cp = oneOf [ ( do n <- qname
                   m <- modifier
                   let c = TagName n m
-                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: name "++show c))
+                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: name "++debugShowCP c))
            , ( do ss <- sequence
                   m <- modifier
                   let c = Seq ss m
-                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: sequence "++show c))
+                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: sequence "++debugShowCP c))
            , ( do cs <- choice
                   m <- modifier
                   let c = Choice cs m
-                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: choice "++show c))
+                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: choice "++debugShowCP c))
            ] `adjustErr` (++"\nwhen looking for a content particle")
 
 modifier :: XParser Modifier
@@ -563,17 +556,17 @@
                  ]
 
 -- just for debugging
-instance Show CP where
-    show (TagName n m) = printableName n++show m
-    show (Choice cps m) = '(': concat (intersperse "|" (map show cps))
-                          ++")"++show m
-    show (Seq cps m) = '(': concat (intersperse "," (map show cps))
-                          ++")"++show m
-instance Show Modifier where
-    show None = ""
-    show Query = "?"
-    show Star = "*"
-    show Plus = "+"
+debugShowCP :: CP -> String
+debugShowCP cp = case cp of
+    TagName n m  -> printableName n++debugShowModifier m
+    Choice cps m -> '(': concat (intersperse "|" (map debugShowCP cps))++")"++debugShowModifier m
+    Seq cps m    -> '(': concat (intersperse "," (map debugShowCP cps))++")"++debugShowModifier m
+debugShowModifier :: Modifier -> String
+debugShowModifier modifier = case modifier of
+    None  -> ""
+    Query -> "?"
+    Star  -> "*"
+    Plus  -> "+"
 ----
 
 mixed :: XParser Mixed
@@ -644,12 +637,12 @@
 notationtype :: XParser NotationType
 notationtype = do
     word "NOTATION"
-    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (blank (tok TokBraClose))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (commit $ blank $ tok TokBraClose)
             (peRef name `sepBy1` peRef (tok TokPipe))
 
 enumeration :: XParser Enumeration
 enumeration =
-    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (blank (tok TokBraClose))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (commit $ blank $ tok TokBraClose)
             (peRef nmtoken `sepBy1` blank (peRef (tok TokPipe)))
 
 defaultdecl :: XParser DefaultDecl
@@ -716,7 +709,7 @@
 -- | Return either a general entity reference, or a character reference.
 reference :: XParser Reference
 reference = do
-    myBracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= val)
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= val)
   where
     val ('#':'x':i) | all isHexDigit i
                     = return . RefChar . fst . head . readHex $ i
@@ -731,11 +724,11 @@
 
 entityref :: XParser EntityRef
 entityref = do
-    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) name
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) name
 
 charref :: XParser CharRef
 charref = do
-    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
   where
     readCharVal ('#':'x':i) = return . fst . head . readHex $ i
     readCharVal ('#':i)     = return . fst . head . readDec $ i
@@ -744,7 +737,7 @@
 
 pereference :: XParser PEReference
 pereference = do
-    myBracket (tok TokPercent) (tok TokSemi) nmtoken
+    bracket (tok TokPercent) (tok TokSemi) nmtoken
 
 entitydecl :: XParser EntityDecl
 entitydecl =
@@ -829,7 +822,7 @@
 encodingdecl = do
     (word "encoding" `onFail` word "ENCODING")
     tok TokEqual `onFail` failBadP "expected = in 'encoding' decl"
-    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (EncodingDecl f)
 
 notationdecl :: XParser NotationDecl
@@ -849,7 +842,7 @@
 
 entityvalue :: XParser EntityValue
 entityvalue = do
- -- evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) (many (peRef ev))
+ -- evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) (many (peRef ev))
     tok TokQuote
     pn <- posn
     evs <- many ev
@@ -874,18 +867,18 @@
 
 attvalue :: XParser AttValue
 attvalue = do
-    avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+    avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
                    (many (either freetext reference))
     return (AttValue avs)
 
 systemliteral :: XParser SystemLiteral
 systemliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (SystemLiteral s)            -- note: refs &...; not permitted
 
 pubidliteral :: XParser PubidLiteral
 pubidliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (PubidLiteral s)             -- note: freetext is too liberal here
 
 -- | Return parsed freetext (i.e. until the next markup)
diff --git a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/ParseLazy.hs b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/ParseLazy.hs
--- a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/ParseLazy.hs
+++ b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/ParseLazy.hs
@@ -159,14 +159,6 @@
 
 ---- Auxiliary Parsing Functions ----
 
--- | Parse a bracketed item, discarding the brackets AND NOT using adjustErrBad
-myBracket :: PolyParse p => p bra -> p ket -> p a -> p a
-myBracket open close p = do
-    do { open    `adjustErr` ("Missing opening bracket:\n\t"++)
-       ; p `discard` (close `adjustErr` ("Missing closing bracket:\n\t"++))
-       }
-
-
 -- | XParser is just a specialisation of the PolyStateLazy parser.
 type XParser a = Parser SymTabs (Posn,TokenT) a
 
@@ -317,7 +309,7 @@
 -- | Return an XML comment.
 comment :: XParser Comment
 comment = do
-    myBracket (tok TokCommentOpen) (tok TokCommentClose) freetext
+    bracket (tok TokCommentOpen) (tok TokCommentClose) freetext
 --  tok TokCommentOpen
 --  commit $ do
 --    c <- freetext
@@ -337,7 +329,7 @@
 cdsect :: XParser CDSect
 cdsect = do
     tok TokSectionOpen
-    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (tok TokSectionClose) chardata
+    bracket (tok (TokSection CDATAx)) (commit $ tok TokSectionClose) chardata
 
 prolog :: XParser Prolog
 prolog = do
@@ -369,7 +361,7 @@
 versioninfo = do
     (word "version" `onFail` word "VERSION")
     tok TokEqual
-    bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
 
 misc :: XParser Misc
 misc =
@@ -385,7 +377,7 @@
     commit $ do
       n   <- qname
       eid <- maybe externalid
-      es  <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (tok TokSqClose)
+      es  <- maybe (bracket (tok TokSqOpen) (commit $ tok TokSqClose)
                             (many (peRef markupdecl)))
       blank (tok TokAnyClose)  `onFail` failP "missing > in DOCTYPE decl"
       return (DTD n eid (case es of { Nothing -> []; Just e -> e }))
@@ -419,7 +411,7 @@
     (word "standalone" `onFail` word "STANDALONE")
     commit $ do
       tok TokEqual `onFail` failP "missing = in 'standalone' decl"
-      bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+      bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
               ( (word "yes" >> return True) `onFail`
                 (word "no" >> return False) `onFail`
                 failP "'standalone' decl requires 'yes' or 'no' value" )
@@ -436,7 +428,7 @@
              ,  do tok TokAnyClose
                    cs <- many content
                    p  <- posn
-                   m  <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (tok TokAnyClose) qname
+                   m  <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen) (commit $ tok TokAnyClose) qname
                    checkmatch p n m
                    return (Elem n as cs))
            ] `adjustErr` (("in element tag "++n++",\n")++)
@@ -455,7 +447,7 @@
              commit $ manyFinally content
                                   (do p <- posn
                                       m <- bracket (tok TokEndOpen)
-                                                   (tok TokAnyClose) qname
+                                                   (commit $ tok TokAnyClose) qname
                                       checkmatch p n m)
           ) `adjustErrBad` (("in element tag "++printableName n++",\n")++)
 
@@ -525,7 +517,7 @@
     blank (tok TokAnyClose) `onFail` failBadP
        ("expected > terminating ELEMENT decl"
        ++"\n    element name was "++show (printableName n)
-       ++"\n    contentspec was "++(\ (ContentSpec p)-> show p) c)
+       ++"\n    contentspec was "++(\ (ContentSpec p)-> debugShowCP p) c)
     return (ElementDecl n c)
 
 contentspec :: XParser ContentSpec
@@ -540,29 +532,29 @@
 
 choice :: XParser [CP]
 choice = do
-    myBracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying choice")
-              (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with choice"))
-              (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokPipe))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying choice")
+            (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with choice"))
+            (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokPipe))
 
 sequence :: XParser [CP]
 sequence = do
- myBracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying sequence")
-           (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with sequence"))
-           (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokComma))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen `debug` "Trying sequence")
+            (blank (tok TokBraClose `debug` "Succeeded with sequence"))
+            (peRef cp `sepBy1` blank (tok TokComma))
 
 cp :: XParser CP
 cp = oneOf [ ( do n <- qname
                   m <- modifier
                   let c = TagName n m
-                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: name "++show c))
+                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: name "++debugShowCP c))
            , ( do ss <- sequence
                   m <- modifier
                   let c = Seq ss m
-                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: sequence "++show c))
+                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: sequence "++debugShowCP c))
            , ( do cs <- choice
                   m <- modifier
                   let c = Choice cs m
-                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: choice "++show c))
+                  return c `debug` ("ContentSpec: choice "++debugShowCP c))
            ] `adjustErr` (++"\nwhen looking for a content particle")
 
 modifier :: XParser Modifier
@@ -573,17 +565,17 @@
                  ]
 
 -- just for debugging
-instance Show CP where
-    show (TagName n m) = printableName n++show m
-    show (Choice cps m) = '(': concat (intersperse "|" (map show cps))
-                          ++")"++show m
-    show (Seq cps m) = '(': concat (intersperse "," (map show cps))
-                          ++")"++show m
-instance Show Modifier where
-    show None = ""
-    show Query = "?"
-    show Star = "*"
-    show Plus = "+"
+debugShowCP :: CP -> String
+debugShowCP cp = case cp of
+    TagName n m  -> printableName n++debugShowModifier m
+    Choice cps m -> '(': concat (intersperse "|" (map debugShowCP cps))++")"++debugShowModifier m
+    Seq cps m    -> '(': concat (intersperse "," (map debugShowCP cps))++")"++debugShowModifier m
+debugShowModifier :: Modifier -> String
+debugShowModifier modifier = case modifier of
+    None  -> ""
+    Query -> "?"
+    Star  -> "*"
+    Plus  -> "+"
 ----
 
 mixed :: XParser Mixed
@@ -654,12 +646,12 @@
 notationtype :: XParser NotationType
 notationtype = do
     word "NOTATION"
-    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (blank (tok TokBraClose))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (commit $ blank $ tok TokBraClose)
             (peRef name `sepBy1` peRef (tok TokPipe))
 
 enumeration :: XParser Enumeration
 enumeration =
-    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (blank (tok TokBraClose))
+    bracket (tok TokBraOpen) (commit $ blank $ tok TokBraClose)
             (peRef nmtoken `sepBy1` blank (peRef (tok TokPipe)))
 
 defaultdecl :: XParser DefaultDecl
@@ -726,7 +718,7 @@
 -- | Return either a general entity reference, or a character reference.
 reference :: XParser Reference
 reference = do
-    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= val)
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= val)
   where
     val ('#':'x':i) | all isHexDigit i
                     = return . RefChar . fst . head . readHex $ i
@@ -741,11 +733,11 @@
 
 entityref :: XParser EntityRef
 entityref = do
-    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) name
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) name
 
 charref :: XParser CharRef
 charref = do
-    bracket (tok TokAmp) (tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
+    bracket (tok TokAmp) (commit $ tok TokSemi) (freetext >>= readCharVal)
   where
     readCharVal ('#':'x':i) = return . fst . head . readHex $ i
     readCharVal ('#':i)     = return . fst . head . readDec $ i
@@ -754,7 +746,7 @@
 
 pereference :: XParser PEReference
 pereference = do
-    myBracket (tok TokPercent) (tok TokSemi) nmtoken
+    bracket (tok TokPercent) (tok TokSemi) nmtoken
 
 entitydecl :: XParser EntityDecl
 entitydecl =
@@ -839,7 +831,7 @@
 encodingdecl = do
     (word "encoding" `onFail` word "ENCODING")
     tok TokEqual `onFail` failBadP "expected = in 'encoding' decl"
-    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    f <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (EncodingDecl f)
 
 notationdecl :: XParser NotationDecl
@@ -859,7 +851,7 @@
 
 entityvalue :: XParser EntityValue
 entityvalue = do
- -- evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) (many (peRef ev))
+ -- evs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) (many (peRef ev))
     tok TokQuote
     pn <- posn
     evs <- many ev
@@ -885,18 +877,18 @@
 
 attvalue :: XParser AttValue
 attvalue = do
-    avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote)
+    avs <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote)
                    (many (either freetext reference))
     return (AttValue avs)
 
 systemliteral :: XParser SystemLiteral
 systemliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (SystemLiteral s)            -- note: refs &...; not permitted
 
 pubidliteral :: XParser PubidLiteral
 pubidliteral = do
-    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (tok TokQuote) freetext
+    s <- bracket (tok TokQuote) (commit $ tok TokQuote) freetext
     return (PubidLiteral s)             -- note: freetext is too liberal here
 
 -- | Return parsed freetext (i.e. until the next markup)
diff --git a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Types.hs b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Types.hs
--- a/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Types.hs
+++ b/src/Text/XML/HaXml/Types.hs
@@ -133,14 +133,14 @@
 -- | The symbol table stored in a document holds all its general entity
 --   reference definitions.
 data Document i = Document Prolog (SymTab EntityDef) (Element i) [Misc]
-                  deriving Eq
+                  deriving (Eq, Show)
 data Prolog     = Prolog (Maybe XMLDecl) [Misc] (Maybe DocTypeDecl) [Misc]
-                  deriving Eq
+                  deriving (Eq, Show)
 data XMLDecl    = XMLDecl VersionInfo (Maybe EncodingDecl) (Maybe SDDecl)
-                  deriving Eq
+                  deriving (Eq, Show)
 data Misc       = Comment Comment
                 | PI ProcessingInstruction
-                deriving Eq
+                deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 type ProcessingInstruction = (PITarget,String)
 
@@ -149,20 +149,20 @@
 type Comment     = String
 type PITarget    = String
 
-data DocTypeDecl = DTD QName (Maybe ExternalID) [MarkupDecl]  deriving Eq
+data DocTypeDecl = DTD QName (Maybe ExternalID) [MarkupDecl]  deriving (Eq, Show)
 data MarkupDecl  = Element  ElementDecl
                  | AttList  AttListDecl
                  | Entity   EntityDecl
                  | Notation NotationDecl
                  | MarkupMisc Misc
-                 deriving Eq
+                 deriving (Eq, Show)
 
-data ExtSubset     = ExtSubset (Maybe TextDecl) [ExtSubsetDecl]  deriving Eq
+data ExtSubset     = ExtSubset (Maybe TextDecl) [ExtSubsetDecl]  deriving (Eq, Show)
 data ExtSubsetDecl = ExtMarkupDecl MarkupDecl
                    | ExtConditionalSect ConditionalSect
-                   deriving Eq
+                   deriving (Eq, Show)
 
-data Element i = Elem QName [Attribute] [Content i] deriving Eq
+data Element i = Elem QName [Attribute] [Content i] deriving (Eq, Show)
 --  ElemTag is an intermediate type for parsing only
 data ElemTag   = ElemTag QName [Attribute]
 type Attribute = (QName, AttValue)
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@
                         -- ^ bool is whether whitespace is significant
                | CRef Reference i
                | CMisc Misc i
+               deriving Show
 
 -- custom instance of Eq, ignoring the informational elements.
 instance Eq (Content i) where
@@ -195,30 +196,30 @@
   fmap f (CRef r i)      = CRef r (f i)
   fmap f (CMisc m i)     = CMisc m (f i)
 
-data ElementDecl = ElementDecl QName ContentSpec deriving Eq
+data ElementDecl = ElementDecl QName ContentSpec deriving (Eq, Show)
 data ContentSpec = EMPTY
                  | ANY
                  | Mixed Mixed
                  | ContentSpec CP
-                 deriving Eq
+                 deriving (Eq, Show)
 data CP = TagName QName Modifier
         | Choice [CP] Modifier
         | Seq [CP] Modifier
-        deriving Eq
+        deriving (Eq, Show)
 data Modifier = None  -- ^ Just One
               | Query -- ^ Zero Or One
               | Star  -- ^ Zero Or More
               | Plus  -- ^ One Or More
-              deriving Eq
+              deriving (Eq, Show)
 data Mixed = PCDATA
            | PCDATAplus [QName]
-           deriving Eq
-data AttListDecl = AttListDecl QName [AttDef] deriving Eq
-data AttDef      = AttDef QName AttType DefaultDecl deriving Eq
+           deriving (Eq, Show)
+data AttListDecl = AttListDecl QName [AttDef] deriving (Eq, Show)
+data AttDef      = AttDef QName AttType DefaultDecl deriving (Eq, Show)
 data AttType     = StringType
                  | TokenizedType TokenizedType
                  | EnumeratedType EnumeratedType
-                 deriving Eq
+                 deriving (Eq, Show)
 data TokenizedType = ID
                    | IDREF
                    | IDREFS
@@ -226,25 +227,25 @@
                    | ENTITIES
                    | NMTOKEN
                    | NMTOKENS
-                   deriving Eq
+                   deriving (Eq, Show)
 data EnumeratedType = NotationType NotationType
                     | Enumeration Enumeration
-                    deriving Eq
+                    deriving (Eq, Show)
 type NotationType   = [Name]    -- nonempty list
 type Enumeration    = [NmToken] -- nonempty list
 data DefaultDecl    = REQUIRED
                     | IMPLIED
                     | DefaultTo AttValue (Maybe FIXED)
-                    deriving Eq
-data FIXED          = FIXED deriving Eq
+                    deriving (Eq, Show)
+data FIXED          = FIXED deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 data ConditionalSect = IncludeSect IncludeSect
                      | IgnoreSect IgnoreSect
-                     deriving Eq
+                     deriving (Eq, Show)
 type IncludeSect = [ExtSubsetDecl]
 type IgnoreSect  = [IgnoreSectContents]
-data Ignore      = Ignore deriving Eq
-data IgnoreSectContents = IgnoreSectContents Ignore [(IgnoreSectContents,Ignore)]  deriving Eq
+data Ignore      = Ignore deriving (Eq, Show)
+data IgnoreSectContents = IgnoreSectContents Ignore [(IgnoreSectContents,Ignore)]  deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 data Reference    = RefEntity EntityRef
                   | RefChar CharRef
@@ -255,25 +256,25 @@
 
 data EntityDecl   = EntityGEDecl GEDecl
                   | EntityPEDecl PEDecl
-                  deriving Eq
-data GEDecl       = GEDecl Name EntityDef deriving Eq
-data PEDecl       = PEDecl Name PEDef deriving Eq
+                  deriving (Eq, Show)
+data GEDecl       = GEDecl Name EntityDef deriving (Eq, Show)
+data PEDecl       = PEDecl Name PEDef deriving (Eq, Show)
 data EntityDef    = DefEntityValue EntityValue
                   | DefExternalID ExternalID (Maybe NDataDecl)
-                  deriving Eq
+                  deriving (Eq, Show)
 data PEDef        = PEDefEntityValue EntityValue
                   | PEDefExternalID ExternalID deriving (Eq,Show)
 data ExternalID   = SYSTEM SystemLiteral
                   | PUBLIC PubidLiteral SystemLiteral deriving (Eq,Show)
-newtype NDataDecl = NDATA Name  deriving Eq
+newtype NDataDecl = NDATA Name  deriving (Eq, Show)
 
-data TextDecl       = TextDecl (Maybe VersionInfo) EncodingDecl  deriving Eq
-data ExtParsedEnt i = ExtParsedEnt (Maybe TextDecl) (Content i) deriving Eq
-data ExtPE          = ExtPE (Maybe TextDecl) [ExtSubsetDecl] deriving Eq
+data TextDecl       = TextDecl (Maybe VersionInfo) EncodingDecl  deriving (Eq, Show)
+data ExtParsedEnt i = ExtParsedEnt (Maybe TextDecl) (Content i) deriving (Eq, Show)
+data ExtPE          = ExtPE (Maybe TextDecl) [ExtSubsetDecl] deriving (Eq, Show)
 
-data NotationDecl    = NOTATION Name (Either ExternalID PublicID) deriving Eq
-newtype PublicID     = PUBLICID PubidLiteral deriving Eq
-newtype EncodingDecl = EncodingDecl String deriving Eq
+data NotationDecl    = NOTATION Name (Either ExternalID PublicID) deriving (Eq, Show)
+newtype PublicID     = PUBLICID PubidLiteral deriving (Eq, Show)
+newtype EncodingDecl = EncodingDecl String deriving (Eq, Show)
 
 -- | A QName is a (possibly) qualified name, in the sense of XML namespaces.
 data QName    = N  Name