diff --git a/include/boost/variant/recursive_wrapper.hpp b/include/boost/variant/recursive_wrapper.hpp
index dc4a4be..a739ec2 100644
--- a/include/boost/variant/recursive_wrapper.hpp
+++ b/include/boost/variant/recursive_wrapper.hpp
@@ -27,10 +27,15 @@ namespace boost {
 //
 // See docs and recursive_wrapper_fwd.hpp for more information.
 //
+
 template <typename T>
 class recursive_wrapper
 {
-public: // representation
+public: // typedefs
+
+    typedef T type;
+
+private: // representation
 
     T* p_;