In today's world of instant messaging, it is rare to find a large cache of letters, and those published here span more than a dozen years, from 1982 to 1995. They were sent back and forth between Jeffrey L. Carrier, beginning when he was a 19-year-old college student, and a long-retired star of silent movies named Patsy Ruth Miller. Nearly forgotten today, Miller was very popular a century ago, receiving great acclaim for her performance as Esmeralda...