diff --git a/lib/webrat/core.rb b/lib/webrat/core.rb
index cce4704..1c4d29a 100644
--- a/lib/webrat/core.rb
+++ b/lib/webrat/core.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+require "webrat/core/configuration"
 require "webrat/core/nokogiri"
 require "webrat/core/logging"
 require "webrat/core/flunk"
diff --git a/lib/webrat/core/configuration.rb b/lib/webrat/core/configuration.rb
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..722fc14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/webrat/core/configuration.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+module Webrat
+  module Core
+    class Configuration
+      
+      # Configures Webrat. If this is not done, Webrat will be created
+      # with all of the default settings. 
+      def self.configure(configuration = Webrat::Core::Configuration.new)
+        yield configuration if block_given?
+        @@configuration = configuration
+      end
+      
+      def self.configuration
+        @@configuration = Webrat::Core::Configuration.new unless @@configuration
+        @@configuration
+      end
+      
+      # Sets whether to save and open pages with error status codes in a browser
+      attr_accessor :open_error_files
+      
+      def initialize
+        self.open_error_files = default_open_error_files
+      end
+      
+      private
+      @@configuration = nil
+      
+      def default_open_error_files
+        true
+      end
+      
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/webrat/core/session.rb b/lib/webrat/core/session.rb
index 2a9f5dd..4c09871 100644
--- a/lib/webrat/core/session.rb
+++ b/lib/webrat/core/session.rb
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ module Webrat
         send "#{http_method}", url, data || {}, h
       end
 
-      save_and_open_page if exception_caught?
+      save_and_open_page if exception_caught? && !Webrat::Core::Configuration.configuration.open_error_files
       raise PageLoadError.new("Page load was not successful (Code: #{response_code.inspect}):\n#{formatted_error}") unless success_code?
       
       @_scopes      = nil
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 53e5896..be1c229 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -9,4 +9,17 @@ require File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + "/fakes/test_session")
 
 Spec::Runner.configure do |config|
   # Nothing to configure yet
+end
+
+
+class Webrat::Core::Configuration
+  @@previous_config = nil
+  
+  def self.cache_config_for_test
+    @@configuration = Webrat::Core::Configuration.configuration
+  end
+  
+  def self.reset_for_test
+    @@configuration = @@previous_config if @@previous_config
+  end
 end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/webrat/core/configuration_spec.rb b/spec/webrat/core/configuration_spec.rb
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d98bd04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/webrat/core/configuration_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+require File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + "/../../spec_helper")
+
+describe Webrat::Core::Configuration do
+  
+  before do
+    Webrat::Core::Configuration.cache_config_for_test
+  end
+  
+  after do
+    Webrat::Core::Configuration.reset_for_test
+  end
+  
+  it "should have a default config" do
+    Webrat::Core::Configuration.configuration.should be_an_instance_of(Webrat::Core::Configuration)
+  end
+  
+  it "should set default values" do
+    config = Webrat::Core::Configuration.configuration
+    config.open_error_files.should == true
+  end
+  
+  it "should be configurable with a block" do
+    Webrat::Core::Configuration.configure do |config|
+      config.open_error_files = false
+    end
+    config = Webrat::Core::Configuration.configuration
+    config.open_error_files.should == false
+  end
+  
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/webrat/core/session_spec.rb b/spec/webrat/core/session_spec.rb
index fc7c9df..b43efcf 100644
--- a/spec/webrat/core/session_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/webrat/core/session_spec.rb
@@ -72,8 +72,12 @@ describe Webrat::Session do
 
   describe "#request_page" do
     before(:each) do
+      Webrat::Core::Configuration.cache_config_for_test
       @session = Webrat::Session.new
     end
+    after(:each) do
+      Webrat::Core::Configuration.reset_for_test
+    end
   
     it "should raise an error if the request is not a success" do
       @session.stub!(:get)
@@ -84,5 +88,15 @@ describe Webrat::Session do
   
       lambda { @session.request_page('some url', :get, {}) }.should raise_error(Webrat::PageLoadError)
     end
+    
+    it "should raise an error but not open if the request is not a success and config quashes save_and_open" do
+      @session.stub!(:get)
+      @session.stub!(:response_body).and_return("Exception caught")
+      @session.stub!(:response_code).and_return(500)
+      @session.stub!(:formatted_error).and_return("application error")
+      @session.should_not_receive(:save_and_open_page)
+  
+      lambda { @session.request_page('some url', :get, {}) }.should raise_error(Webrat::PageLoadError)
+    end
   end
 end