He seems to have been a bit of a nutcase (looking at Leo and Julian one could argue it ran in the family) and a misfit. It's interesting of course that everyone knows about the ridiculous Joyce but Amery has more or less been written out of the public memory. As I see it that's part of a wider project to downplay the pre-war links between senior Tories and European fascism. Had opportunity arisen we'd have had our share of Lavals. They had have been a better sort of chap though.