diff --git a/Lib/unittest/case.py b/Lib/unittest/case.py
index 6ffdacb..d52bc8d 100644
--- a/Lib/unittest/case.py
+++ b/Lib/unittest/case.py
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@
         if not issubclass(exc_type, self.expected):
             # let unexpected exceptions pass through
             return False
+        self.exc_value = exc_value #store for later retrieval
         if self.expected_regex is None:
             return True