I posted a schematic that shows one complete schematic with the parts necessary for a single 8051 controller to communicate via RS-232.
It is as simple as building two of those circuits. Then since they are both DCE devices, you simply connect the TX of the 1st one to the RX of the 2nd, the RX of the 1st to the TX of the 2nd, and connect the two grounds together.
The connections are also mentioned at the bottom of the schematic.
If you are connecting to DTE (Data Terminal Equipment), you connect TX->TX and RX->RX.
It is as simple as building two of those circuits. Then since they are both DCE devices, you simply connect the TX of the 1st one to the RX of the 2nd, the RX of the 1st to the TX of the 2nd, and connect the two grounds together.
The connections are also mentioned at the bottom of the schematic.
If you are connecting to DTE (Data Terminal Equipment), you connect TX->TX and RX->RX.