diff --git a/changelog b/changelog
--- a/changelog
+++ b/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
+texmath (0.7.0.2)
+
+  * TeX reader:  further improvements in error reporting.
+    Instead of reporting line and column, a snippet is printed
+    with a caret indicating the position of the error.  Also
+    fixed bad position information when control sequences are
+    followed by a letter.
+
 texmath (0.7.0.1)
 
   * TeX reader:
@@ -5,7 +13,6 @@
     + Improved error reporting.
     + Optimized parser.
     + Treat `\ ` as ESpaced rather than ESymbol.
-    + Fixed parsing of `\phantom`.
     + Internal improvements, including using the parsec3 interface
       instead of the older parsec2 compatibility interface.
 
diff --git a/src/Text/TeXMath/Readers/TeX.hs b/src/Text/TeXMath/Readers/TeX.hs
--- a/src/Text/TeXMath/Readers/TeX.hs
+++ b/src/Text/TeXMath/Readers/TeX.hs
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 import Data.Char (isDigit, isAscii, isLetter)
 import qualified Data.Map as M
 import Text.Parsec hiding (label)
+import Text.Parsec.Error
 import Text.Parsec.String
 import Text.TeXMath.Types
 import Control.Applicative ((<*), (*>), (<*>), (<$>), (<$), pure)
@@ -63,14 +64,36 @@
 readTeX :: String -> Either String [Exp]
 readTeX inp =
   let (ms, rest) = parseMacroDefinitions inp in
-  either (Left . show) (Right . id) $ parse formula "formula" (applyMacros ms rest)
+  either (Left . showParseError inp) (Right . id)
+    $ parse formula "formula" (applyMacros ms rest)
 
+showParseError :: String -> ParseError -> String
+showParseError inp pe =
+  snippet ++ "\n" ++ caretline ++
+    showErrorMessages "or" "unknown" "expecting" "unexpected" "eof"
+       (errorMessages pe)
+  where errln = sourceLine (errorPos pe)
+        errcol = sourceColumn (errorPos pe)
+        snipoffset = max 0 (errcol - 20)
+        inplns = lines inp
+        ln = if length inplns >= errln
+                then inplns !! (errln - 1)
+                else ""  -- should not happen
+        snippet = take 40 $ drop snipoffset ln
+        caretline = replicate (errcol - snipoffset - 1) ' ' ++ "^"
+
+
 ctrlseq :: String -> TP String
-ctrlseq s = lexeme $
+ctrlseq s = lexeme $ try $ do
+  result <- string ('\\':s)
   case s of
-       [c] | not (isLetter c) -> try (string ['\\',c])
-       _ -> try (string ('\\':s) <* (notFollowedBy letter
-                                     <?> ("non-letter after \\" ++ s)))
+       [c] | not (isLetter c) -> return ()
+       _ -> (do pos <- getPosition
+                letter
+                setPosition pos
+                mzero <?> ("non-letter after \\" ++ s))
+            <|> return ()
+  return result
 
 ignorable :: TP ()
 ignorable = skipMany (comment <|> label <|> (skipMany1 space <?> "whitespace"))
@@ -508,7 +531,11 @@
   cmd <- oneOfStrings cmds
   case cmd of
     ['\\',c] | not (isLetter c) -> return ()
-    _ -> notFollowedBy letter <?> ("non-letter after " ++ cmd)
+    _ -> (do pos <- getPosition
+             letter
+             setPosition pos
+             mzero <?> ("non-letter after " ++ cmd))
+         <|> return ()
   spaces
   return cmd
 
diff --git a/texmath.cabal b/texmath.cabal
--- a/texmath.cabal
+++ b/texmath.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Name:                texmath
-Version:             0.7.0.1
+Version:             0.7.0.2
 Cabal-Version:       >= 1.10
 Build-type:          Simple
 Synopsis:            Conversion between formats used to represent mathematics.