Of BOTH versions,Version one -When she lived in Danville,with son Jerry,Daughter Chris and Viv and Viv's son Sherman,and the second version where she went to California,they say the series was based on the book "Life Without George"by Irma Kampen.Now the question:Has anyone ever read the book,and if so,did the book depict her as being a widow who became a single working woman with no kids at all,like the series did when it moved to California?

Of BOTH versions,Version one -When she lived in Danville,with son Jerry,Daughter Chris and Viv and Viv's son Sherman,and the second version where she went to California,they say the series was based on the book "Life Without George"by Irma Kampen.Now the question:Has anyone ever read the book,and if so,did the book depict her as being a widow who became a single working woman with no kids at all,like the series did when it moved to California?

I've never read the book, but from what I've heard, it's about a widow with kids trying to get by without a husband. There is no character in the book comparable to Vivian. I think more than anything, the claim that the show was based on that book was just legal cover from the fact that, if anything, The Lucy Show was based almost entirely on I Love Lucy. Indeed, I Love Lucy creator Jess Oppenheimer sued and ultimately won.

I think The Lucy Show was based very loosely on the book.

Both women in the book were divorced, but the producers didn't want viewers to think that Lucy had divorced Ricky, but apparently it was ok for them to think that Ricky had died. It was ok for Viv to be divorced, because viewers wouldn't mind if Fred & Ethel were divorced. :)